MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,942 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $6,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 10.7% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 32.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in SBA Communications by 4.1% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in SBA Communications by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $226.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $232.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.20. SBA Communications Co. has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $258.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.68.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $669.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.34 EPS. SBA Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This trade represents a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBAC. KeyCorp upped their target price on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.23.

SBA Communications Company 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.