Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 55,000 Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 249,000 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 55,000 shares during the quarter. SBA Communications accounts for 2.5% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.23% of SBA Communications worth $63,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 248.0% in the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 87 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 88.6% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in SBA Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBAC has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America raised SBA Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on SBA Communications from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary S. Chan sold 1,977 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total value of $430,966.23. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,007,549.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBAC traded up $5.59 on Tuesday, reaching $218.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 753,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,014,924. The stock has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.56. SBA Communications Co. has a 1 year low of $185.23 and a 1 year high of $267.42. The business's 50 day moving average is $214.82 and its 200 day moving average is $222.49.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $682.11 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 18.51% and a negative return on equity of 9.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This is an increase from SBA Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. SBA Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.03%.

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.