Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 72,255 Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 874,945 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,255 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in SBA Communications were worth $210,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBAC. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in SBA Communications by 2,821.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,469 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $134,738,000. Long Pond Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $83,687,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 500.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 369,037 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,375,000 after acquiring an additional 307,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in SBA Communications by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,973,867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $387,470,000 after acquiring an additional 233,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $221.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.37. SBA Communications Co. has a 12 month low of $183.64 and a 12 month high of $258.76.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.34 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. The trade was a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,775,084.72. This trade represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SBAC shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $236.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.23.

SBA Communications 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.