Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 149,606 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,062,066 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 149,606 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.81% of Iridium Communications worth $59,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,829,052 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $82,099,000 after buying an additional 320,506 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,827,580 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $82,028,000 after acquiring an additional 329,915 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,507,715 shares of the technology company's stock worth $72,774,000 after acquiring an additional 134,924 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 94.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,735,842 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,374,000 after purchasing an additional 841,951 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. BWS Financial dropped their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair upgraded Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.17. 1,117,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,423. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.74. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $19.91 and a one year high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $214.88 million for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

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.