Cerity Partners LLC Buys Shares of 44,626 Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 44,626 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 109.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 322.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,735 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.14 and a fifty-two week high of $41.66.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.68 million. Analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,489,277.36. The trade was a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.