Vanguard Group Inc. Has $268.77 Million Stake in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,837,714 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 973,870 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.10% of Iridium Communications worth $268,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 85.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,627 shares of the technology company's stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 12,297 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 115,054 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,143,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $17,613,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.76. 361,630 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,393,685. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $28.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.42. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12 month low of $19.91 and a 12 month high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $216.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.73 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.33.

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.