Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 2,260 Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,070 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 41,079 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 5,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 53.8% in 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 last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,463 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $73.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.68 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.64 and its 200 day moving average is $77.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.80 and a 1-year high of $86.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.31. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The firm had revenue of $252.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.49 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.005 per share. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 510.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cogent Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.58, for a total transaction of $391,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,500 shares in the company, valued at $7,219,830. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO James Bubeck sold 1,920 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.60, for a total value of $147,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 49,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,794,917.20. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,440 shares of company stock valued at $1,057,910. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.