Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 33,000 Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 235,300 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 33,000 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.22% of SBA Communications worth $47,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SBAC. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SBA Communications by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 46,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,062,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,117,697,000 after purchasing an additional 81,566 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $557,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 142.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 71,826 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,288,000 after purchasing an additional 42,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of SBA Communications by 5.3% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,028 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. 97.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.92.

SBA Communications Trading Down 4.7 %

SBAC stock opened at $219.91 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.48. SBA Communications Co. has a 12-month low of $183.64 and a 12-month high of $252.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.83.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total transaction of $495,213.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,790.22. This represents a 26.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.