Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $11.29 Million Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Cogent Communications by 3.8%, now owning 184,195 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million.
• Cogent Communications recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.015, representing an annualized yield of 11.0%, and initiated a share buyback plan worth $100 million.
• Equity analysts have set varying price targets for Cogent, with the current consensus rating at "Hold" and an average target price of $46.60.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,195 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,232 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Cogent Communications worth $11,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 246.0% in the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 907,916 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,973,000 after acquiring an additional 645,521 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 808,061 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $49,542,000 after acquiring an additional 109,543 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 752,158 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,961,000 after buying an additional 235,842 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 673,921 shares of the technology company's stock worth $41,318,000 after buying an additional 89,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 586,474 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,957,000 after buying an additional 2,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $72,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,117.95. This trade represents a 16.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 1,840,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.60, for a total transaction of $60,005,809.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,516,052 shares in the company, valued at $49,423,295.20. The trade was a 54.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,903,878 shares of company stock valued at $94,170,629. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CCOI traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.88. 2,153,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,877,775. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.23. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.61 and a twelve month high of $86.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.12 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported ($1.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($0.28). Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 117.56% and a negative net margin of 21.57%.The business had revenue of $246.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.68) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were paid a $1.015 dividend. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This is a boost from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -89.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CCOI. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.60.

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.