Insider Selling: Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) CEO Sells 80,000 Shares of Stock

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.78, for a total transaction of $3,822,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,701,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,868,229.38. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Dave Schaeffer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 9th, Dave Schaeffer sold 55,000 shares of Cogent Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $2,675,200.00.
• On Wednesday, June 4th, Dave Schaeffer sold 75,000 shares of Cogent Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $3,582,000.00.
• On Tuesday, May 27th, Dave Schaeffer sold 20,000 shares of Cogent Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $973,400.00.
• On Thursday, May 22nd, Dave Schaeffer sold 25,000 shares of Cogent Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.27, for a total transaction of $1,156,750.00.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ CCOI opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.65 and a twelve month high of $86.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 62.35 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.42. 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 (NASDAQ:CCOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($1.09) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $247.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.81 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.38) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.31%. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently -100.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,020 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,604,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the first quarter valued at $104,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,748 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 8,306 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 23.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 161,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,919,000 after acquiring an additional 30,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 10.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.