Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Makes New $28.99 Million Investment in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 266,738 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,994,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of EchoStar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SATS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.17.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of EchoStar stock opened at $132.50 on Friday. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $135.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42.

EchoStar Profile

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a global provider of satellite communication solutions, offering a suite of broadband and video delivery services to consumer, enterprise and government customers. The company operates two principal business segments: Broadband and Video. Through its Broadband segment, EchoStar delivers high-speed satellite internet access, managed network services and ground infrastructure for residential, commercial and rural markets. Its Video segment provides satellite fleet operations, teleport facilities and capacity-leasing services to video distributors and content providers.

In the Broadband segment, EchoStar’s Hughes Network Systems division designs and manufactures satellite broadband equipment, including user terminals and gateways, and develops advanced network management technologies.