Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,565,538 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 97.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,966 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,565,538 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,757 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,854,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 57,202 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, LBP AM SA raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 149,294 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 27,219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,576,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,983,965. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.85. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12 month low of $19.91 and a 12 month high of $35.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 13.20%. The business had revenue of $216.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRDM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.33.

About Iridium Communications

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.