Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 986,487 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,507 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $213,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 148,687 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,219,000 after buying an additional 10,753 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications during the first quarter valued at about $276,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 12.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 471,565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,188,000 after purchasing an additional 53,400 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 798.6% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 629 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SBA Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $70,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC stock traded up $3.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $214.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 911,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,789. SBA Communications Co. has a 52-week low of $183.64 and a 52-week high of $258.76. The stock has a market cap of $23.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $197.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.31.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.08 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 20.61%. SBA Communications’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered SBA Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $276.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $241.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.31.

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.