Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Cuts Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM – Get Rating) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,652 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 844 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Iridium Communications worth $3,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $324,000. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 279.4% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,476 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 296,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,174,000 after purchasing an additional 51,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan J. Hartin sold 27,835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $1,803,708.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,218,544.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Bryan J. Hartin sold 27,835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $1,803,708.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,218,544.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Barry West sold 4,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.50, for a total transaction of $276,122.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,173,527.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,581 shares of company stock valued at $9,272,744. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM opened at $59.33 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.40. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.88 and a 1 year high of $68.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 456.42 and a beta of 1.10.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.10. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 1.38%. The business had revenue of $205.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.98 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 400.03%.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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Iridium Communications, Inc engages in the provision of global satellite communications services and products. Its products include personal communicators, messengers, and trackers, satellite phones, push-to-talk-devices, broadband, midband, and external terminals, docking stations, apps, and accessories.