Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Spok Price Performance

Spok stock opened at $15.90 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.58 and a 200-day moving average of $15.96. The company has a market capitalization of $321.98 million, a P/E ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 0.27. Spok has a 1 year low of $10.46 and a 1 year high of $18.14.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $34.91 million during the quarter. Spok had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 10.23%.

Spok Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.313 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.87%. Spok’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.60%.

Insider Activity at Spok

In related news, Director Barbara Peterson Byrne sold 5,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.18, for a total value of $90,396.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,580.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Spok news, Director Barbara Peterson Byrne sold 5,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.18, for a total transaction of $90,396.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,580.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Todd J. Stein sold 25,927 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $464,611.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 696,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,483,735.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spok

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPOK. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Spok by 162.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,015 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Spok by 439.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,913 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spok during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $126,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Spok by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,577 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares during the period. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spok during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.81% of the company’s stock.

About Spok

Spok Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, Spok, Inc, provides healthcare communication solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. The company's products and services enhance workflows for clinicians and support administrative compliance. It delivers clinical information to care teams when and where it matters to enhance patient outcomes; and provides GenA Pager, a one-way alphanumeric pager.