Van ECK Associates Corp Has $4.05 Million Stock Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 148.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,636 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 83,454 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.12% of Iridium Communications worth $4,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Iridium Communications by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $32.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.93. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.14 and a 1 year high of $35.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

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.