Earnest Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 803,081 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,570 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.75% of SBA Communications worth $163,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in SBA Communications by 161.8% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 360 shares of the technology company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBAC traded down $2.66 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $240.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 740,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,827. SBA Communications Co. has a 12-month low of $183.64 and a 12-month high of $252.64. The company has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $220.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.70.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $1.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. SBA Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.91%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total value of $495,213.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,790.22. This represents a 26.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SBAC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut SBA Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SBA Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.38.

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.