Barclays PLC Acquires 137,924 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 137,924 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.75% of Iridium Communications worth $26,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $65,897,000 after acquiring an additional 385,872 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,323,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,370 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after buying an additional 21,522 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 6,491.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,899,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $30.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $41.66. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.75 and a 200-day moving average of $28.24.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 59.58%.

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.