D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 230,574 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 469,682 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 230,574 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $13,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 529.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of IRDM opened at $25.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.74. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.91 and a 12 month high of $35.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.28. 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 (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $214.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.78 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on IRDM. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. William Blair upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BWS Financial lowered their price objective on Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.25.

Iridium Communications 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.