Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 114,927 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,645 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $23,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SBAC. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $1,117,697,000 after purchasing an additional 81,566 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 16.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after buying an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in SBA Communications by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,861,091 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $379,290,000 after acquiring an additional 142,054 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,781,231 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $363,015,000 after purchasing an additional 565,137 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,287,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of SBA Communications 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,790.22. The trade was a 26.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC stock opened at $219.91 on Monday. SBA Communications Co. has a 52-week low of $183.64 and a 52-week high of $252.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $213.48 and its 200 day moving average is $218.48. The company 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on SBAC shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on SBA Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.92.

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.