Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 207,068 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,175 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.02% of Spok worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SPOK. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Spok by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,546 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok in the 4th quarter valued at about $183,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Spok by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 18,791 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Spok by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 19,432 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.81% of the company’s stock.

Spok Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SPOK opened at $15.87 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $326.48 million, a P/E ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.51. Spok Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.55 and a fifty-two week high of $17.96.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $36.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.00 million. Spok had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, research analysts forecast that Spok Holdings, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Spok Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Spok’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spok news, CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 30,000 shares of Spok stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $492,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,198.80. The trade was a 15.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 6,000 shares of Spok stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.53, for a total transaction of $99,180.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 61,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,222.75. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spok from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Spok to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.