Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its Iridium Communications stake by 88.2% in the third quarter, selling 517,737 shares and retaining 69,442 shares worth about $3.3 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 84.36% of Iridium. Other investors made notable purchases, including Van ECK Associates, which increased its stake by 50.9%.
• Iridium beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.98 per share versus analysts’ $0.34 estimate, and revenue of $245.73 million versus $236.30 million expected. Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with a $41.20 price target.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 88.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,442 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 517,737 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Iridium Communications worth $3,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the second quarter valued at $737,587,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the second quarter worth $62,751,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 50.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,270,799 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $124,553,000 after purchasing an additional 766,171 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at $25,725,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at $22,842,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on IRDM shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Iridium Communications from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. New Street Research upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.20.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 4.8%

NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.04. 607,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 837,719. The firm's fifty day moving average is $46.47 and its 200-day moving average is $40.18. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12-month low of $15.65 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The technology company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.64. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 22.04%. The company had revenue of $245.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is currently 39.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $10,507,681.26. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,928,127.32. This represents a 78.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Last sold 19,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.34, for a total transaction of $982,687.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 93,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,702,410.42. The trade was a 17.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 381,688 shares of company stock worth $19,146,390 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides global satellite communications services through the Iridium satellite network. The company offers voice and data connectivity for customers in remote and difficult-to-reach locations, supporting applications in maritime, aviation, government, emergency services, transportation, industrial, and recreational markets.

Its product portfolio includes satellite phones, broadband services, specialized voice and data terminals, and Internet of Things connectivity for tracking, monitoring, and machine-to-machine communications.

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