Versant Capital Management Inc Increases Stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 360 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SBA Communications by 2,821.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,469 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 377.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 886,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $213,353,000 after buying an additional 700,791 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $134,738,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in SBA Communications by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after acquiring an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,687,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total value of $795,249.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,534,796.04. The trade was a 9.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total value of $472,161.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,743.14. This trade represents a 31.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.92.

SBA Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBAC opened at $201.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.69. SBA Communications Co. has a 52-week low of $183.64 and a 52-week high of $252.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $217.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.25.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) 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). SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The company had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 61.83%.

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.