Bessemer Group Inc. Has $45,000 Stock Holdings in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 90.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 585 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,250 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,114,596 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $394,182,000 after acquiring an additional 43,523 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,014,322 shares of the technology company's stock worth $77,021,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $53,835,000 after purchasing an additional 101,956 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,845,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cogent Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 509,344 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,255,000 after buying an additional 11,858 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CCOI traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.59. 94,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,341. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.54 and a 52-week high of $86.76. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 67.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $252.29 million during 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%. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.005 per share. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -93.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.57, for a total transaction of $174,168.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,975,370. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $353,094.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 103,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,422,180. This trade represents a 4.54 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the 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 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.