AXQ Capital LP Raises Stock Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

AXQ Capital LP increased its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 110.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,565 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 20,772 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. 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 buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,060 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Iridium Communications by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,731 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Iridium Communications by 25.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Iridium Communications by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 76,836 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $27.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $35.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s dividend 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.