Bessemer Group Inc. Has $6.03 Million Position in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. dramatically increased its stake in Iridium Communications, reporting ownership of 217,485 shares worth about $6.03 million after buying 217,088 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Iridium’s latest earnings missed analyst EPS expectations, with quarterly EPS of $0.20 versus $0.27 expected, though revenue came in slightly above estimates at $219.06 million and rose 2% year over year.
• The stock has drawn mixed analyst views, with a current consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $38.67, even as Morgan Stanley and Barclays recently raised their targets.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 54,682.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,485 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 217,088 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Iridium Communications worth $6,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 11,985 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 37,465 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,345,000 after acquiring an additional 33,191 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,741,000 after acquiring an additional 75,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $46.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.87. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $57.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.96.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 12.05%.The firm had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Iridium Communications's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on IRDM. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. New Street Research assumed coverage on Iridium Communications in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company's unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium's core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.

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