New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 9,607 Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,055 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,607 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $23,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in SBA Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 164 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC stock opened at $196.23 on Friday. SBA Communications Co. has a fifty-two week low of $185.23 and a fifty-two week high of $263.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.51.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.36). SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 18.51%. The firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $682.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 85.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on SBA Communications from $260.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded SBA Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary S. Chan sold 1,977 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total transaction of $430,966.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,007,549.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.