Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Purchased by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Key Points

• Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 37.5%, owning approximately 3.89 million shares valued at $106.21 million.
• Analysts have set varying ratings and price targets for Iridium Communications, with a current average price target of $35.20 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Iridium Communications declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.14 to $0.15 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.34% as of the upcoming payment date on September 30th.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,889,045 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,061,465 shares during the quarter. Iridium Communications accounts for about 1.3% of Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. owned about 3.60% of Iridium Communications worth $106,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 37.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,893,145 shares of the technology company's stock worth $106,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,093 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,213,512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,125,000 after acquiring an additional 683,777 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,088,053 shares of the technology company's stock worth $60,595,000 after acquiring an additional 567,164 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,062,066 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,841,000 after acquiring an additional 149,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,827,411 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $53,031,000 after acquiring an additional 280,269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BWS Financial reduced their target price on Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.80.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.00. 602,597 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,172. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12-month low of $19.91 and a 12-month high of $35.85. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $28.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.93.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $216.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.73 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

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.