BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stock Position in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 16.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,278 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,473 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.16% of SBA Communications worth $40,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Partners Group Holding AG lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 155,951 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,537,000 after purchasing an additional 21,136 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in SBA Communications by 18.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 387,967 shares of the technology company's stock worth $93,384,000 after acquiring an additional 59,368 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 1.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,054 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 420,514 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $100,351,000 after acquiring an additional 241,916 shares during the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SBA Communications Trading Down 1.0 %

SBAC stock traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $226.25. The stock had a trading volume of 351,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,920. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.68. SBA Communications Co. has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.05 and a 200 day moving average of $218.00.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). The business had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SBAC shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on SBA Communications from $236.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.23.

Insider Activity

In other SBA Communications news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,213,814.28. This represents a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SBA Communications Profile

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.