Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 257,689 Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 257,689 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $7,040,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.24% of Iridium Communications at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IRDM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 631,852 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,336,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,240,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,924 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,171,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on IRDM. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BWS Financial decreased their price objective on Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 1.5%

IRDM stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 877,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,463. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.78. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $216.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.73 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis 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.