Insider Selling: Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Sells 12,500 Shares of Stock

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $27.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.14 and a 12 month high of $38.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.49.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 429.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,902,000 after acquiring an additional 271,203 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 942,380 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,695,000 after buying an additional 198,360 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,614,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,093,000 after buying an additional 137,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 54.0% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 365,121 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,118,000 after acquiring an additional 128,018 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.