EchoStar Corporation $SATS Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its holdings in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 75.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,075 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 253,528 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $6,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SATS. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in EchoStar by 593.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in EchoStar by 55.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in EchoStar by 11.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,665 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of SATS stock opened at $106.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $132.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.79. The stock has a market cap of $30.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SATS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $158.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EchoStar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, EchoStar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at $39,688,870.65. This trade represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 55.70% of the company’s stock.

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.