Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys New Shares in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio initiated a position in Iridium Communications, buying 28,918 shares worth approximately $1.586 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.36% of the company.
• Iridium insiders sold 375,919 shares valued at nearly $18.9 million during the latest quarter, including sizable sales by an insider and a director.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $38.67, while Iridium recently reported quarterly revenue above estimates but earnings below expectations and announced a $0.15-per-share quarterly dividend.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,918 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,586,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 392.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 10,363.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,988 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other news, insider Kathleen Morgan sold 33,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $1,671,217.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 124,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,254.85. This represents a 21.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 58,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,928,127.32. The trade was a 78.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 375,919 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,997. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 10th. William Blair lowered shares of Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. New Street Research raised shares of Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM stock opened at $47.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.78. Iridium Communications Inc has a 1 year low of $15.65 and a 1 year high of $57.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.05.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 10.55%.The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 68.18%.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company's unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium's core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.

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