Prudential PLC Boosts Stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Prudential PLC increased its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,891 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,738 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $20,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,368,209 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,763,691,000 after purchasing an additional 88,339 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in SBA Communications by 54.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,300,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $931,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524,302 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,091,103 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $530,492,000 after acquiring an additional 153,299 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,958,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $496,765,000 after acquiring an additional 166,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $286,079,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of SBA Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.92.

SBA Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $238.51 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $215.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.97. The company has a market capitalization of $25.63 billion, a PE ratio of 46.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.67. SBA Communications Co. has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by ($0.56). SBA Communications had a net margin of 19.22% and a negative return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $665.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.24 EPS. SBA Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.86%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,775,084.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other SBA Communications news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total value of $11,048,327.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 109,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,328,521.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.