Zacks Investment Management Decreases Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Zacks Investment Management cut its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 93.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,756 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 143,715 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,240,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 94.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,735,842 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,374,000 after purchasing an additional 841,951 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,213,512 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,125,000 after purchasing an additional 683,777 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,613,000. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,827,580 shares of the technology company's stock worth $82,028,000 after purchasing an additional 329,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. BWS Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. William Blair raised shares of Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.16. 1,433,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,349,603. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $27.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.72. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $19.91 and a one year high of $35.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $214.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Iridium Communications Profile

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.