Bank of America Corp DE Buys 245,134 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Bank of America initiated a stake in Iridium Communications, buying 245,134 shares valued at approximately $13.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.36% of the company.
• Iridium reported quarterly revenue of $225.24 million, up 3.8% year over year, but adjusted EPS of $0.09 fell short of the $0.28 analyst consensus. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 1.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $41.20, below the stock’s reported $48.75 price. Insiders have sold 381,688 shares worth approximately $19.1 million over the past 90 days.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 245,134 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $13,446,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.23% of Iridium Communications as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $737,587,000. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,251,133 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $91,265,000 after purchasing an additional 61,430 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,159,061 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,884,000 after purchasing an additional 65,937 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,751,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 508,290 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,100,000 after purchasing an additional 10,702 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $48.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.27. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. Iridium Communications Inc has a twelve month low of $15.65 and a twelve month high of $57.18.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $225.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 68.18%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, EVP Timothy Last sold 19,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.34, for a total value of $982,687.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 93,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,702,410.42. This trade represents a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total value 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. The trade was a 27.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 381,688 shares of company stock valued at $19,146,390. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Iridium Communications Company 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.

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.