Insider Selling: Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Sells $10,507,681.26 in Stock

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $10,507,681.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,928,127.32. The trade was a 78.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Thomas Fitzpatrick also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 15,046 shares of Iridium Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.20, for a total value of $740,263.20.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $48.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 55.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.88. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $57.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.19). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The company had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.1% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Iridium Communications by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,677 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.