Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 10,944 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Iridium Communications by 1.0%, holding 1,082,279 shares valued at approximately $29.57 million.
• Iridium Communications plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, a slight increase from its previous dividend, with a yield of 2.5%.
• A consensus rating of "Buy" exists for Iridium Communications, with an average target price of $34.33, despite some recent downgrades by analysts.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,082,279 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,944 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.00% of Iridium Communications worth $29,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,757 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,402 shares of the technology company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,750 shares of the technology company's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,683,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,870. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.39. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52 week low of $19.91 and a 52 week high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $216.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.73 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

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.