Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $8.99 Million Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,206 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,067 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.26% of Iridium Communications worth $8,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 6,491.3% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,598,532 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574,280 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 429.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,902,000 after buying an additional 271,203 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 26.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 942,380 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,695,000 after buying an additional 198,360 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 4.6% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 3,480,051 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,639,000 after acquiring an additional 152,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the third quarter worth about $4,614,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In related news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Iridium Communications stock opened at $30.20 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average of $28.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.14 and a 1 year high of $41.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Iridium Communications announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.