Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,142,895 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 178,583 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 0.7% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $67,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,571,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285,052 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,297,905,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Cisco Systems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,419,041 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,741,597,000 after purchasing an additional 681,555 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,718,195 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,107,930,000 after purchasing an additional 216,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,214,461 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $988,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:CSCO traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.01. 15,585,609 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,111,857. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $66.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.16.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock valued at $4,275,553. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Melius raised Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.68.

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.