Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 3,207 Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 224,236 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,207 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $53,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. 97.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.23.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBAC opened at $221.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $236.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.87, 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.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. SBA Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 61.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This represents a 23.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.