Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,240 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,502 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.11% of EchoStar worth $35,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SATS. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in EchoStar by 0.4% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,845 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,674,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 19,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of EchoStar by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in EchoStar by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EchoStar Price Performance

EchoStar stock opened at $103.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $117.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.15 and a 12-month high of $147.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.71) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SATS. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on EchoStar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen raised their price target on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Four 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.71.

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.