Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 203,523 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications Inc by 47.3%, owning 633,796 shares valued at approximately $17.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors are also expanding their positions, with Millennium Management LLC increasing its holdings by 82.2% and now owning about 1.4 million shares, valued at around $39.6 million.
• Iridium Communications announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15, an increase from the previous $0.14, reflecting a healthy dividend yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 56.57%.

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 47.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 633,796 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 203,523 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.59% of Iridium Communications worth $17,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 56,164 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,629,000 after buying an additional 37,206 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 590,023 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,122,000 after buying an additional 10,226 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Iridium Communications by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,867 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 2,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 270,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,845,000 after purchasing an additional 198,788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on IRDM shares. BWS Financial lowered Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Iridium Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of Iridium Communications stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.08. 7,034,784 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,298,956. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.51. Iridium Communications Inc has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $35.85. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $24.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.16.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Iridium Communications's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Iridium Communications 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.