Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.25 Million Stock Position in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,644 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,905 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in SBA Communications were worth $6,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBAC. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in SBA Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the second quarter worth $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 97.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SBA Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ SBAC traded up $1.50 on Friday, reaching $223.08. The stock had a trading volume of 792,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,680. The company has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $237.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.20.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. The business had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.34 EPS. SBA Communications's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid 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 1.76%. SBA Communications's payout ratio is presently 61.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SBAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $236.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares in the company, valued at $1,775,084.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other SBA Communications news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 8,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,775,084.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total value of $364,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.