Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 369.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,562 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,747 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.06% of Iridium Communications worth $2,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,060 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Iridium Communications by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,731 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 76,836 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,321 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $29.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.14 and a 12 month high of $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.43.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. Equities research analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company.

Iridium Communications Company 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.