Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 65,768 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,299 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,829,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,099,000 after acquiring an additional 320,506 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,297,676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,659,000 after purchasing an additional 275,775 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Iridium Communications in the third quarter worth about $4,614,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,093,000 after buying an additional 137,924 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on IRDM shares. StockNews.com raised Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM opened at $31.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.11. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.14 and a 52-week high of $35.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

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.