Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Down 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) fell 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $28.66 and last traded at $28.85. 258,505 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 830,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IRDM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.75.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.70.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,977 shares of company stock worth $488,593 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 248,602 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after purchasing an additional 57,690 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $697,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,370 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,970,000 after buying an additional 21,522 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 545.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 8,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

About Iridium Communications

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.