109,634 Shares in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Bought by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management purchased 109,634 Iridium Communications shares worth approximately $6.0 million, joining other institutional investors that increased their stakes. Institutions collectively owned 84.36% of the company.
• Company insiders sold 375,919 shares valued at nearly $18.9 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by Director Thomas Fitzpatrick and insider Suzanne McBride.
• Analysts collectively rated IRDM “Hold,” with an average price target of $38.67, while the company reported quarterly revenue above estimates but missed earnings expectations. Iridium also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 109,634 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,013,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.10% of Iridium Communications at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,985 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 37,465 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 33,191 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 75,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total value of $10,507,681.26. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,928,127.32. This represents a 78.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne Mcbride sold 85,454 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $4,296,627.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,017 shares in the company, valued at $14,179,814.76. The trade was a 23.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 375,919 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,997 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IRDM shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 10th. William Blair lowered Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, New Street Research raised Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $47.80 on Wednesday. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52 week low of $15.65 and a 52 week high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.78.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.19). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The company had revenue of $225.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.18%.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company's unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium's core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.

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