D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 230,574 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 469,682 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 230,574 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Iridium Communications worth $13,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 529.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,512 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Iridium Communications stock opened at $25.66 on Wednesday. Iridium Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $214.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is 52.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IRDM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. BWS Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair upgraded Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.25.

Iridium Communications Company 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.

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