State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,348 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,554 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $5,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SATS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after buying an additional 3,199 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in EchoStar by 8.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 331,476 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,479,000 after acquiring an additional 24,749 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the 1st quarter valued at $128,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $114.46 on Thursday. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.90 and a fifty-two week high of $132.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.32. The company has a market cap of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SATS shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised EchoStar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,688,870.65. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 283,509 shares in the company, valued at $19,091,496.06. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EchoStar Company 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.