Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 37.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,893,145 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,064,093 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 3.58% of Iridium Communications worth $106,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 631,852 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $18,336,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 369.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 69,562 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 54,747 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Iridium Communications by 376.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $17,613,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 182.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,109 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 11,705 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.03. 359,319 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,158,561. 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 3.43, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.79.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $214.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 14.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is 52.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair raised Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.25.

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.