JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 19.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 621,657 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 152,761 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.55% of Iridium Communications worth $18,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the third quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.31. 610,500 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 632,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.62. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.14 and a 12-month high of $39.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. As a group, analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. The trade was a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,832 shares of company stock valued at $1,259,221 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services.