Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 58,692 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Iridium Communications Inc by 31.0%, leaving it with approximately $3.55 million in stock holdings.
• Iridium Communications recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.14 to $0.15 per share, representing a 2.4% dividend yield.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed outlooks for Iridium Communications, with target price reductions from firms such as Morgan Stanley and Raymond James, while maintaining ratings from "buy" to "overweight."

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,405 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 58,692 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.12% of Iridium Communications worth $3,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Allen Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.7% in the first quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,590 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 242.1% in the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 43,802 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 31,000 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 645,636 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,639,000 after acquiring an additional 38,698 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 26.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,198,343 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,059,000 after acquiring an additional 462,501 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.89. 2,073,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,532. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. Iridium Communications Inc has a twelve month low of $19.91 and a twelve month high of $35.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.18.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 13.20%.The business had revenue of $216.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Iridium Communications's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 56.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IRDM shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.33.

About Iridium Communications

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.