Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Makes New Investment in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 188,219 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,459,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew 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 valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in EchoStar during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new position in EchoStar during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in EchoStar by 0.5% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 58,941 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in EchoStar by 0.8% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 37,456 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SATS. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EchoStar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.17.

Insider Activity

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EchoStar Price Performance

NASDAQ SATS opened at $131.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.00. EchoStar Corporation has a 52 week low of $14.90 and a 52 week high of $135.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.82.

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.