Dodge & Cox Sells 1,607,143 Shares of EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Dodge & Cox decreased its stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,791,127 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,607,143 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $900,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SATS. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,481,700,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $98,819,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in EchoStar by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 8,960,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $248,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,672 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,736,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,464,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EchoStar Price Performance

NASDAQ:SATS opened at $108.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.52 and its 200 day moving average is $91.74. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $132.25. The company has a market capitalization of $31.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SATS. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price 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 reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.17.

About EchoStar

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.