KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 1,785,215 Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,785,215 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $105,685,000. Cisco Systems makes up approximately 0.5% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $60.30 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $66.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.95 and its 200 day moving average is $58.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $239.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its 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 net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 71.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $2,060,025.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 736,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $1,283,626.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 335,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,616,318.05. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock valued at $4,275,553 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CSCO shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.63.

Cisco Systems 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.