Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,985 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,785 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Cogent Communications worth $3,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CCOI. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 623 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 132.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 875 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 212.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.25.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In related news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 103,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,422,180. This represents a 4.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.57, for a total transaction of $174,168.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,975,370. This represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $53.83 on Thursday. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.54 and a 52-week high of $86.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.59 and a 200-day moving average of $75.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 69.01 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.31. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The firm had revenue of $252.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.005 dividend. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.47%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is -93.49%.

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.