Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 31,651 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 1,755.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,454 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,651 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IRDM. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth $131,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.00 on Wednesday. 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.45 and its 200-day moving average is $29.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. Equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 1.93%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio 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.