First Trust Advisors LP Has $7.68 Million Stock Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,553 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 75,621 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of Iridium Communications worth $7,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Iridium Communications by 529.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 4.6 %

Iridium Communications stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.17. 1,117,109 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.46 and its 200-day moving average is $28.49. Iridium Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company had revenue of $214.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IRDM shares. BWS Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair upgraded Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.