Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $39.85 Million in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 516,993 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $39,845,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 1.05% of Cogent Communications as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cogent Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,114,596 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $394,182,000 after acquiring an additional 43,523 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cogent Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,014,322 shares of the technology company's stock worth $77,021,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 698,518 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $53,835,000 after acquiring an additional 101,956 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 509,344 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,255,000 after purchasing an additional 11,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 0.6% during the third quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 350,304 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of CCOI stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $52.24. The company had a trading volume of 24,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,311. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.06 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $66.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.37. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.54 and a 52-week high of $86.76. 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 (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $252.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.005 dividend. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is currently -93.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 956 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.57, for a total transaction of $174,168.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,975,370. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock worth $840,878 over the last 90 days. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.25.

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.