VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $2.08 Million Investment in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 37,950 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,082,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 5,124.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,855,073 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $321,151,000 after buying an additional 5,743,010 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 4,771 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $224,000. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $181,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Iridium Communications stock opened at $47.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $57.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.87.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. New Street Research raised Iridium Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair downgraded Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.20.

Insider Activity

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total value of $680,521.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 35,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,804,772.81. The trade was a 27.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 15,046 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.20, for a total transaction of $740,263.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,128,392. This represents a 25.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 375,919 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,997. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides global satellite-based voice and data communications services. Its network is designed to support connectivity across land, oceans, airways and polar regions, serving customers in areas where terrestrial communications infrastructure is limited or unavailable.

The company offers satellite phones, broadband and narrowband data services, push-to-talk communications, and Internet of Things connectivity. Its product portfolio includes Iridium Certus broadband services, Iridium GO! satellite Wi-Fi products, satellite phones, specialized IoT services and solutions for asset tracking, monitoring and machine-to-machine communications.