Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 25,244 Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 697.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,865 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,244 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.06% of Cogent Communications worth $2,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 185,992 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,333,000 after purchasing an additional 50,370 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Cogent Communications by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 256,871 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $19,797,000 after acquiring an additional 37,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,679 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,055,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.57, for a total value of $174,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,975,370. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

CCOI stock traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.46. 582,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 461,142. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 72.38 and a beta of 0.69. 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.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.31. The firm 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, equities analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.005 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.12%. This is a boost from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -93.49%.

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.