Barclays PLC Purchases 137,924 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Barclays PLC raised its position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 137,924 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $26,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 109.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 322.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,735 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 83.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the director now owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 182,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $30.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.14 and a 12-month high of $41.66. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in 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 usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 59.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BWS Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

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.