Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,030 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $3,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $39,845,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 8,542.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 237,678 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,318,000 after acquiring an additional 234,928 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 698,518 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,835,000 after purchasing an additional 101,956 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $6,332,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 800,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,793,000 after purchasing an additional 79,474 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 1,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $103,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,147 shares in the company, valued at $740,325.12. This trade represents a 12.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $353,094.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 103,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,422,180. The trade was a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878 in the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.25.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $61.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 79.05 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.45. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.80 and a 1-year high of $86.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $252.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.49 million. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.005 per share. This represents a $4.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.52%. This is an increase from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is -93.49%.

Cogent Communications Profile

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America, and Africa. The company offers on-net Internet access and private network services to law firms, financial services firms, and advertising and marketing firms, as well as heath care providers, educational institutions and other professional services businesses, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, web hosting companies, media service providers, mobile phone operators, content delivery network companies, and commercial content and application service providers.