Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Buys 5,030 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 716,341 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,030 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $21,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 6,491.3% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,598,532 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574,280 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.5% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,475,472 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,897,000 after acquiring an additional 385,872 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.9% during the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,089,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 346,118 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,090,326 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $316,283,000 after purchasing an additional 336,989 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 429.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,902,000 after buying an additional 271,203 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRDM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BWS Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

IRDM traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.87. 202,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,088,498. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.62 and its 200 day moving average is $28.20. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $41.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 141.12 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio 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.