Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 194,583 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Troy Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 582,855 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 194,583 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for 1.2% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $34,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 175,424 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,326 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,160,000 after buying an additional 41,625 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,812 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,651,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,879,518 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $100,028,000 after acquiring an additional 34,493 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 105,069 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,592,000 after purchasing an additional 4,759 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO stock opened at $60.86 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.50 and a 1 year high of $66.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $242.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.47.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued 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%. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 71.62%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.63.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $2,060,025.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

About Cisco Systems

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.