Aviva PLC Trims Holdings in Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX)

Aviva PLC lowered its stake in shares of Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX) by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,761 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 8,955 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in BOX were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of BOX by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,807 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BOX by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BOX by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 35,775 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in BOX by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in BOX by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 17,340 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on BOX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of BOX in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of BOX in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of BOX in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on BOX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered BOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.11.

Insider Activity

In other BOX news, COO Olivia Nottebohm sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $38,641.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 492,545 shares in the company, valued at $14,288,730.45. This represents a 0.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aaron Levie sold 10,000 shares of BOX stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,979,780 shares in the company, valued at $95,591,342.40. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,246 shares of company stock worth $1,862,181. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

BOX Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of BOX stock opened at $30.21 on Friday. Box, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.63 and a 52 week high of $35.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.96.

BOX declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About BOX

Box, Inc engages in the provision of an enterprise content platform that enables organizations to securely manage enterprise content while allowing easy, secure access and sharing of this content from anywhere, on any device. Its products include cloud content management, IT and admin controls, Box Governance, Box Zones, Box Relay, Box Shuttle, and Box KeySafe.