Swedbank AB Buys Shares of 9,136 EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Swedbank AB initiated a new position in EchoStar during the fourth quarter, buying 9,136 shares valued at about $993,000.
• Institutional interest in EchoStar remains broad, with several hedge funds and asset managers increasing stakes; overall, 33.62% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: EchoStar has a Hold consensus rating, with an average price target of $134.17, while insiders recently sold shares, including the COO and CEO.

Swedbank AB bought a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,136 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $993,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 331,476 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24,749 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in EchoStar in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,528 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EchoStar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EchoStar Price Performance

EchoStar stock opened at $127.15 on Monday. EchoStar Corporation has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $137.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.79. The company has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42.

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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