Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 68.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,479 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 77,405 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,985 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 37,465 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 33,191 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after buying an additional 75,060 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM opened at $23.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.50. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $34.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 13.12%.The business had revenue of $212.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.14 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 56.60%.

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.