Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Davidson Investment Advisors

Davidson Investment Advisors lowered its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 401,699 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,177 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 1.2% of Davidson Investment Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $23,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.87, for a total transaction of $449,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,915 shares in the company, valued at $3,946,331.05. This represents a 10.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 21,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.07, for a total transaction of $1,211,596.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 213,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,203,506.38. The trade was a 9.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,239 shares of company stock valued at $2,166,612 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $64.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.88. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $44.50 and a one year high of $66.50. The company has a market cap of $258.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.64.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 25.70%. On average, analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.67%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company also offers switching portfolio encompasses campus switching as well as data center switching; enterprise routing portfolio interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering highly secure, and reliable connectivity to campus, data center and branch networks; wireless products include wireless access points and controllers; and compute portfolio including the cisco unified computing system, hyperflex, and software management capabilities, which combine computing, networking, and storage infrastructure management and virtualization.