Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Up 1.1% – What’s Next?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price rose 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $64.64 and last traded at $63.95. Approximately 5,348,999 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 19,282,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CSCO. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Melius Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.53.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.75 and a 200-day moving average of $56.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.62%.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $760,080.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 200,191 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,294.67. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $2,060,025.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,729 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,748. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 9,029,594 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $480,555,000 after buying an additional 52,711 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 6.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,490 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,127,000 after acquiring an additional 10,895 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its position in Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 987,077 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $52,532,000 after purchasing an additional 9,045 shares in the last quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $691,000. Finally, FSA Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.