AQR Capital Management LLC Has $27.30 Million Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 940,771 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 200,271 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $27,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,827,411 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,031,000 after buying an additional 280,269 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 1,373.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 6,618 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 71,083 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 30,283 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $324,000. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. William Blair upgraded Iridium Communications from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their target price 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. StockNews.com cut Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BWS Financial cut their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $25.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.74. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $19.91 and a one year high of $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.48.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. The firm had revenue of $214.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

Iridium Communications 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.