46,500 Shares in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Iridium Communications, buying 46,500 shares worth about $1.29 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 84.36% of Iridium shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Several funds increased their stakes, though one insider, CAO Timothy Kapalka, sold 2,043 shares in April.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a Hold consensus rating and an average price target of $38.67. Iridium also recently reported quarterly earnings that missed EPS estimates even as revenue came in roughly in line with expectations.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 46,500 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,199 shares of the technology company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,677 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on IRDM shares. BWS Financial reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair lowered shares of Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total value of $67,419.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 45,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,793. This trade represents a 4.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM opened at $53.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.54 and a 200 day moving average of $31.59. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.29, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.87.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The business had revenue of $219.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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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