396,110 Shares in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 396,110 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,727,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.37% of Iridium Communications at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 19.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,677 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

IRDM opened at $47.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.88. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12-month low of $15.65 and a 12-month high of $57.18.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Morgan sold 33,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $1,671,217.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,254.85. This trade represents a 21.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total value of $680,521.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 35,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,772.81. This trade represents a 27.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 375,919 shares of company stock worth $18,878,997. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair lowered shares of Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. New Street Research raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

Iridium Communications Profile

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.