Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,341 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,269,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $130,018,000 after purchasing an additional 36,851 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,829,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,099,000 after acquiring an additional 320,506 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,827,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,028,000 after acquiring an additional 329,915 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,507,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,774,000 after acquiring an additional 134,924 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,297,676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,659,000 after purchasing an additional 275,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on IRDM shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $29.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.14 and a 52-week high of $35.85. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.43.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.78 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

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.