Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Reduces Stock Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,697 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 113,764 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Iridium Communications worth $3,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 6,491.3% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,598,532 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,553,000 after buying an additional 1,574,280 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 18.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,475,472 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,897,000 after acquiring an additional 385,872 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.9% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,089,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 346,118 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,090,326 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $316,283,000 after purchasing an additional 336,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 429.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,902,000 after purchasing an additional 271,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IRDM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $31.03 on Friday. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $46.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.76 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.55.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $201.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.01 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 266.67%.

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

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.