Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 201.7%, owning 174,818 shares valued at approximately $4.77 million as of the first quarter.
• Iridium Communications has seen multiple analyst downgrades, including cuts to target prices by firms such as Raymond James and Morgan Stanley, affecting market sentiment.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase to $0.15 per share, boosting its annual yield to 3.4% with a payout ratio of 56.57%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 201.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,818 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 116,880 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Iridium Communications worth $4,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IRDM. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 129.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.2% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,757 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial cut Iridium Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $39.00 to $26.00 in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. BWS Financial cut Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 2.0%

Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,827,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,201,879. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.78. Iridium Communications Inc has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $35.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.24.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 13.20%.The firm had revenue of $216.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.61%.

About Iridium Communications

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.