Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL decreased its stake in Iridium Communications by 21.9%, selling 57,177 shares, leaving them with approximately 203,961 shares valued at $5.57 million.
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their predictions for Iridium Communications, with most price targets being revised down, including a reduction from $47.00 to $39.00 by Raymond James.
• Iridium Communications has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.14 to $0.15 per share, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders despite recent earnings misses.

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its position in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 203,961 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 57,177 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 0.19% of Iridium Communications worth $5,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,402 shares of the technology company's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 6.6% during the fourth 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. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IRDM shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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. Barclays cut 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BWS Financial cut their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $24.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.72 and a 200-day moving average of $27.78. 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 52 week low of $19.91 and a 52 week high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Iridium Communications's 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.

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