Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA reduced its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 873,826 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 38,703 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for about 2.6% of Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $54,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Melius raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.63.
Read Our Latest Report on CSCO
Cisco Systems Price Performance
Shares of CSCO stock traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $63.94. 21,153,303 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,042,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $66.50. The stock has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.63 and a 200 day moving average of $57.44.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current 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 represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.
Cisco Systems announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity
In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total value of $34,392.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,767 shares in the company, valued at $2,979,515.23. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 200,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,886,294.67. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,348 shares of company stock worth $4,318,181. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.
About Cisco Systems
(
Free Report)
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.
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