M&T Bank Corp Increases Stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,440 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBAC. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 2,821.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,469 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in SBA Communications by 377.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 886,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $213,353,000 after buying an additional 700,791 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in SBA Communications in the second quarter worth about $134,738,000. Long Pond Capital LP bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the second quarter worth about $83,687,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 500.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 369,037 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,375,000 after buying an additional 307,530 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SBAC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com raised SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on SBA Communications from $236.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.23.

SBA Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $214.28 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 0.72 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.31.

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

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 61.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total value of $795,249.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,588 shares in the company, valued at $7,534,796.04. This trade represents a 9.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.