Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys New Shares in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,079 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,530,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EchoStar Stock Up 3.7%

SATS opened at $127.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $137.44. The firm has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 0.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SATS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.17.

EchoStar Profile

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a global provider of satellite communication solutions, offering a suite of broadband and video delivery services to consumer, enterprise and government customers. The company operates two principal business segments: Broadband and Video. Through its Broadband segment, EchoStar delivers high-speed satellite internet access, managed network services and ground infrastructure for residential, commercial and rural markets. Its Video segment provides satellite fleet operations, teleport facilities and capacity-leasing services to video distributors and content providers.

In the Broadband segment, EchoStar’s Hughes Network Systems division designs and manufactures satellite broadband equipment, including user terminals and gateways, and develops advanced network management technologies.