Amundi Acquires 113,844 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Iridium Communications stake by 407.9% in the second quarter, adding 113,844 shares to own 141,756 shares worth approximately $7.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.36% of the company.
• Iridium reported quarterly revenue of $225.2 million, up 3.8% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $0.09 missed the $0.28 consensus forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.3%. Despite some analyst upgrades, the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $41.20.

Amundi grew its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 407.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,756 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 113,844 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.13% of Iridium Communications worth $7,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IRDM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $737,587,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 5,124.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,855,073 shares of the technology company's stock worth $321,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,743,010 shares during the period. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,251,133 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $91,265,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,761,749 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $82,759,000 after acquiring an additional 725,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 265.8% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,039,731 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $53,074,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208,857 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $47.30 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.08 and its 200 day moving average is $41.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.31. Iridium Communications Inc has a 1 year low of $15.65 and a 1 year high of $57.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.87.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 10.55%.The business had revenue of $225.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. Iridium Communications's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 85,454 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $4,296,627.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,179,814.76. The trade was a 23.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total transaction of $680,521.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 35,731 shares in the company, valued at $1,804,772.81. This trade represents a 27.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 375,919 shares of company stock worth $18,878,997 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IRDM has been the subject of several research reports. New Street Research upgraded Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.20.

Iridium Communications Profile

Iridium Communications Inc provides global satellite-based voice and data communications services. Its network is designed to support connectivity across land, oceans, airways and polar regions, serving customers in areas where terrestrial communications infrastructure is limited or unavailable.

The company offers satellite phones, broadband and narrowband data services, push-to-talk communications, and Internet of Things connectivity. Its product portfolio includes Iridium Certus broadband services, Iridium GO! satellite Wi-Fi products, satellite phones, specialized IoT services and solutions for asset tracking, monitoring and machine-to-machine communications.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IRDM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.