Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Thomas Fitzpatrick Sells 209,233 Shares

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total value of $10,507,681.26. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,928,127.32. The trade was a 78.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Thomas Fitzpatrick also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 15,046 shares of Iridium Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.20, for a total value of $740,263.20.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $48.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.35, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.88. Iridium Communications Inc has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $57.18.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 10.55%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.18%.

Trending Headlines about Iridium Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Iridium Communications this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Insiders collectively sold 375,919 shares of Iridium Communications for approximately $18.9 million in transactions dated August 17–18. The sales occurred at prices ranging from $49.20 to $50.51, potentially signaling that several executives and directors viewed the recent stock price as an opportunity to take profits. SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Thomas Fitzpatrick made the largest disposal, selling 209,233 shares for roughly $10.5 million and reducing his reported ownership by 78.21%. He also sold an additional 15,046 shares, bringing his disclosed sales to 224,279 shares. SEC director filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other notable sales included 85,454 shares by Suzanne E. McBride, 33,192 shares by Kathleen A. Morgan, 19,521 shares by EVP Timothy James Last, and 13,473 shares by Chief Accounting Officer Timothy Kapalka. Their reported ownership reductions ranged from 17.29% to 27.38%. SEC insider filings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on IRDM. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. New Street Research upgraded Iridium Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.67.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at about $737,587,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 265.8% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,039,731 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,074,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208,857 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 651.1% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 2,309,750 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002,232 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 226.3% in the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 2,012,077 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,751,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.