Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its stake in Cogent Communications, boosting holdings by 15,230.8% in the fourth quarter to 154,075 shares worth about $3.32 million.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including VP Henry W. Kilmer and Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy, while institutional investors continue to own the vast majority of the stock.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has an average Hold rating with a $24.90 target price, even as Cogent beat earnings estimates for the quarter and maintained a small quarterly dividend.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 15,230.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 154,075 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 153,070 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.31% of Cogent Communications worth $3,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CCOI. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 466.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 536.5% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,215 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,350. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,199. This represents a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CCOI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CCOI opened at $18.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $909.42 million, a PE ratio of -5.12 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.43. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.82 and a fifty-two week high of $54.37.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. Cogent Communications's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.9 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.25%.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications NASDAQ: CCOI is a multinational Internet service provider specializing in high-speed Internet access and data transport services. The company operates one of the largest Tier 1 IP networks in the world, offering wholesale and enterprise customers reliable, low-latency connectivity. Cogent's core services include dedicated Internet access, Ethernet transport, wavelength services, and MPLS-based IP Virtual Private Networks, all delivered over its privately owned, fiber-optic backbone.

In addition to network connectivity, Cogent provides data center colocation and managed services designed to support businesses with demanding bandwidth and redundancy requirements.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CCOI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.