PFG Advisors Trims Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

PFG Advisors lowered its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,023 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,096 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $59.67 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.50 and a 1 year high of $66.50. The stock has a market cap of $237.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.75 and its 200-day moving average is $57.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued 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 net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. Equities analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CSCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Melius Research raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $1,283,626.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,605 shares in the company, valued at $21,616,318.05. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,604,868.80. The trade was a 1.07 % 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 worth $4,275,553 in the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.