Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Position Lowered by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,232 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 188,788 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.17% of Cogent Communications worth $6,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Shares of CCOI traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.35. The stock had a trading volume of 603,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,793. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 69.68 and a beta of 0.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.00. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.54 and a fifty-two week high of $86.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 36.31% and a net margin of 3.73%. The company had revenue of $252.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $4.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.40%. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is currently -93.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 956 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.36, for a total value of $66,308.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,652 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,702.72. The trade was a 4.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock worth $840,878 in the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.