Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Sells $1,127,253.45 in Stock

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,489,277.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Iridium Communications stock opened at $29.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.62. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.14 and a 1 year high of $41.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.12.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is presently 59.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.