National Pension Service Grows Stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,966 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 20,307 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of SBA Communications worth $43,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,644 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,249,000 after buying an additional 2,905 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 23.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,777 shares of the technology company's stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the technology company's stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in SBA Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $403,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBA Communications stock traded up $2.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $221.58. 1,860,230 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,292. The firm's fifty day moving average is $237.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.20. The company has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.68. SBA Communications Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.64 and a fifty-two week high of $258.76.

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

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. SBA Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SBAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp increased their target price on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised SBA Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SBA Communications news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,775,084.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SBA Communications Company 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.