Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Increases Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 376.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,858 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $697,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,370 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 21,522 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 182.2% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,877 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 8,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 61,825 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $27.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.14 and a 12 month high of $35.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $212.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.78 million. On average, analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.95%.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In related 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 transaction of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IRDM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

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.