Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY Sells 21,738 Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY lowered its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 441,491 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 21,738 shares during the period. SBA Communications makes up 2.1% of Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY owned 0.41% of SBA Communications worth $112,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SBA Communications by 2.2% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the technology company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in SBA Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 986 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in SBA Communications by 6.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 748 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in SBA Communications by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 164 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quaero Capital S.A. grew its position in SBA Communications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Quaero Capital S.A. now owns 3,730 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other news, Director Mary S. Chan sold 1,977 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total transaction of $430,966.23. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of SBA Communications stock traded down $3.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.84. The company had a trading volume of 872,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,365. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.71. The firm has a market cap of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 43.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.56. SBA Communications Co. has a fifty-two week low of $185.23 and a fifty-two week high of $267.42.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.36). SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 18.51%. The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $682.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.11 earnings per share. SBA Communications's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This is a positive change from SBA Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. SBA Communications's payout ratio is 85.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SBAC shares. Barclays decreased their target price on SBA Communications from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded SBA Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $268.38.

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.