Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Position in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 874,945 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,255 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.81% of SBA Communications worth $210,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 2,821.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,714,000 after buying an additional 1,174,469 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in SBA Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $134,738,000. Long Pond Capital LP bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,687,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 307,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in SBA Communications by 13.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 233,179 shares during the period. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SBA Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

SBA Communications stock opened at $221.09 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.37. SBA Communications Co. has a twelve month low of $183.64 and a twelve month high of $258.76. The company has a market capitalization of $23.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.68.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. The company had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total value of $364,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This trade represents a 23.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About SBA Communications

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.