Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Asset Management One increased its stake in EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) by 986.8% in Q4, buying an additional 55,519 shares to hold 61,145 shares valued at about $6.64 million.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares at an average of $113.58 and CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares at an average of $107.52, reducing their stakes by 16.5% and 7.94% respectively, though insiders still own 55.90% of the company.
• Wall Street consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $134.17, while the stock opened at $122.36 (52-week high $137.44) and the company has a market cap of about $35.35 billion.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 986.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,145 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,519 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in EchoStar were worth $6,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 55.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Stock Performance

NASDAQ SATS opened at $122.36 on Thursday. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $137.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $35.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.64 and a 200-day moving average of $101.65.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation NASDAQ: SATS is a global provider of satellite communication solutions, offering a suite of broadband and video delivery services to consumer, enterprise and government customers. The company operates two principal business segments: Broadband and Video. Through its Broadband segment, EchoStar delivers high-speed satellite internet access, managed network services and ground infrastructure for residential, commercial and rural markets. Its Video segment provides satellite fleet operations, teleport facilities and capacity-leasing services to video distributors and content providers.

In the Broadband segment, EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems division designs and manufactures satellite broadband equipment, including user terminals and gateways, and develops advanced network management technologies.

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.