Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 155,400 Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its position in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 739,756 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 155,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.51% of Cogent Communications worth $57,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,114,596 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $394,182,000 after purchasing an additional 43,523 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,750,810 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $132,921,000 after buying an additional 22,738 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,014,322 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,021,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 698,518 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,835,000 after purchasing an additional 101,956 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,845,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of CCOI opened at $53.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.01 and a beta of 0.69. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.54 and a twelve month high of $86.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.47.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $252.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.49 million. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.005 dividend. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently -93.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 1,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 10,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,325.12. This trade represents a 12.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $353,094.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 103,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,422,180. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

About Cogent Communications

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.