Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 65,000 Shares of SBA Communications Corporation $SBAC

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 65,000 shares during the quarter. SBA Communications accounts for approximately 1.4% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $40,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of SBA Communications by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 104,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,290,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in SBA Communications by 4.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,761 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in SBA Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 65.0% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,182,076 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $229,145,000 after purchasing an additional 465,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 225,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,541,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SBA Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of SBAC opened at $194.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.87. SBA Communications Corporation has a 12-month low of $179.89 and a 12-month high of $245.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.05.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.09. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 29.69%.The firm had revenue of $732.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $715.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that SBA Communications Corporation will post 12.57 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 57.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SBAC. Williams Trading set a $237.00 price target on SBA Communications in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on SBA Communications from $249.00 to $237.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.59.

SBA Communications Profile

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its core business is the leasing of space on communications towers, rooftop sites and other wireless structures to mobile network operators, broadband providers and other wireless service customers. The company also provides site development, construction and ongoing site management services to support the deployment and operation of wireless networks.

In addition to traditional macro towers, SBA offers a range of infrastructure solutions designed for dense urban and suburban markets, including small cells, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and fiber backhaul and transport services.