Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 95,172 Shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS)

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,914,676 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 95,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.07% of EchoStar worth $72,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,776,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $118,546,000 after buying an additional 62,674 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in EchoStar by 44.8% during the third quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $74,460,000 after acquiring an additional 927,695 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in EchoStar by 51.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,243,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $39,961,000 after purchasing an additional 762,462 shares during the period. Monarch Alternative Capital LP increased its stake in EchoStar by 23.6% in the second quarter. Monarch Alternative Capital LP now owns 1,854,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,020,000 after purchasing an additional 354,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,001,832 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,843,000 after purchasing an additional 29,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of SATS opened at $22.75 on Friday. EchoStar Co. has a 52 week low of $11.83 and a 52 week high of $30.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 0.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on SATS shares. StockNews.com upgraded EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on EchoStar in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

EchoStar Company Profile

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.