JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,657 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 152,761 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.55% of Iridium Communications worth $18,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IRDM. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,269,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $130,018,000 after buying an additional 36,851 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,508,546 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,385,000 after acquiring an additional 33,074 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 0.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609,649 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,014,000 after purchasing an additional 11,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 26.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 942,380 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,695,000 after purchasing an additional 198,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,093,000 after purchasing an additional 137,924 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.05 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.53 and its 200 day moving average is $28.44. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $39.42.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.57%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In related news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,489,277.36. The trade was a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,832 shares of company stock worth $1,259,221. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.