Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ Lowers Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ cut its EchoStar stake by 74.6% in Q4, selling 11,300 shares and leaving it with 3,855 shares worth about $419,000.
• Company insiders have been selling large blocks: CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M) and COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares (~$5.69M), with insiders now owning 55.9% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $134.17; the stock was trading near $117.50 and the company has a market cap of about $33.94 billion.

Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ lessened its stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 74.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 11,300 shares during the period. Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ's holdings in EchoStar were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,665 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 58,941 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,501,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SATS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 target price on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Stock Down 3.3%

NASDAQ SATS opened at $117.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $116.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.26. EchoStar Corporation has a one year low of $14.90 and a one year high of $137.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.00.

EchoStar Profile

EchoStar Corporation NASDAQ: SATS is a global provider of satellite communication solutions, offering a suite of broadband and video delivery services to consumer, enterprise and government customers. The company operates two principal business segments: Broadband and Video. Through its Broadband segment, EchoStar delivers high-speed satellite internet access, managed network services and ground infrastructure for residential, commercial and rural markets. Its Video segment provides satellite fleet operations, teleport facilities and capacity-leasing services to video distributors and content providers.

In the Broadband segment, EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems division designs and manufactures satellite broadband equipment, including user terminals and gateways, and develops advanced network management technologies.

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