Natixis Buys 1,297 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Natixis raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,429 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IRDM. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,727,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 290,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,953,000 after acquiring an additional 99,150 shares during the last quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier now owns 79,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,280,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $572,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on IRDM shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Iridium Communications stock opened at $29.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.52. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $54.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.43 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.49 and its 200 day moving average is $29.53.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $201.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.01 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Iridium Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 266.67%.

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.