ARK Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Iridium Communications by 95.1%, acquiring over 2.3 million additional shares in the first quarter, making it the 22nd largest position in their portfolio.
• Iridium Communications announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, an increase from the previous $0.14, with a 2.34% dividend yield.
• The company reported a 7.9% year-over-year increase in revenue, despite missing earnings expectations slightly, with EPS of $0.20 compared to an estimated $0.23.

ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 95.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,891,677 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,383,962 shares during the quarter. Iridium Communications makes up 1.3% of ARK Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. ARK Investment Management LLC owned about 4.52% of Iridium Communications worth $133,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 38.4% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,026,681 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,049,000 after buying an additional 285,104 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications during the first quarter valued at $238,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications during the first quarter valued at $468,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 1.7%

IRDM opened at $25.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.79. Iridium Communications Inc has a twelve month low of $19.91 and a twelve month high of $35.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $216.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.73 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.20%. Iridium Communications's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BWS Financial lowered their price target on Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair upgraded Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.20.

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.

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