Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 10,341 Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,341 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,731 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 1.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 13.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM stock opened at $29.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.53 and its 200 day moving average is $29.43. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

About Iridium Communications

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.