Granahan Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Granahan Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,481 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,986 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned 0.36% of Cogent Communications worth $13,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 623 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 618 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of CCOI traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.25. The stock had a trading volume of 261,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,190. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.38 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.00 and a 1-year high of $86.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.04). Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The business had revenue of $247.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.38) EPS. Cogent Communications's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -100.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 956 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.36, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $353,094.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 103,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,422,180. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,681 shares of company stock worth $840,878. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CCOI. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.75.

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.