Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 142.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 441,183 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 258,892 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.39% of Iridium Communications worth $12,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 357 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $131,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

IRDM stock opened at $27.32 on Wednesday. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $35.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.48.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company had revenue of $212.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 58.95%.

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.