Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,370 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 21,522 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $3,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the third quarter valued at about $697,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609,649 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,014,000 after purchasing an additional 11,117 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,508,546 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,385,000 after purchasing an additional 33,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,516,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM stock opened at $29.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.62. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.14 and a 1 year high of $41.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.23.

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Iridium Communications 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.