Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,139 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,527 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,117,697,000 after buying an additional 81,566 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in SBA Communications by 16.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,024,049,000 after acquiring an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in SBA Communications by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,886,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $586,827,000 after acquiring an additional 71,023 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in SBA Communications by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,861,091 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $379,290,000 after acquiring an additional 142,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,781,231 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $363,015,000 after purchasing an additional 565,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SBAC shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.92.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBA Communications stock opened at $219.91 on Friday. SBA Communications Co. has a 12 month low of $183.64 and a 12 month high of $252.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.81. The company has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SBA Communications news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total value of $495,213.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,790.22. The trade was a 26.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.