Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Spok Price Performance

Shares of SPOK stock opened at $15.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.51 and a 200 day moving average of $15.95. Spok has a 1 year low of $10.46 and a 1 year high of $18.14.

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

Spok Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.313 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is currently 150.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spok

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPOK. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Spok in the 1st quarter worth about $1,868,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spok in the 1st quarter worth about $3,759,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Spok by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,026,201 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $16,368,000 after buying an additional 31,888 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Spok by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 104,258 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 35,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Spok by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,577 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 3,884 shares during the last quarter. 50.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.