Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Stock Holdings Boosted by Anchor Capital Management Company LLC

Key Points

• Anchor Capital Management Company LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications to $21.20 million, representing 21.2% of its portfolio, after acquiring 56,000 additional shares in Q1.
• Various institutional investors significantly boosted their positions in Iridium, with ARK Investment Management increasing its holdings by 95.1% to approximately $133.64 million.
• Iridium Communications reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting $0.20 EPS against an estimate of $0.23, while issuing a raised quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Anchor Capital Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 775,917 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,000 shares during the period. Iridium Communications accounts for approximately 21.2% of Anchor Capital Management Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC owned 0.72% of Iridium Communications worth $21,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 95.1% during the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,891,677 shares of the technology company's stock worth $133,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383,962 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 37.6% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,893,145 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,093 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 37.5% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,889,045 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,465 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 26.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,198,343 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,059,000 after acquiring an additional 462,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 13.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,945,852 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $53,162,000 after acquiring an additional 234,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.50 on Friday, reaching $25.12. 1,799,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,401,906. Iridium Communications Inc has a 1-year low of $19.91 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.78.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $214.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.33.

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.