Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Sells 4,139 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI cut its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 539,796 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 4,139 shares during the period. Cisco Systems makes up 2.6% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $31,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Community Bank raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 54,409 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 66,920 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 44,220 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 94,246 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total value of $34,392.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,979,515.23. This represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,348 shares of company stock valued at $4,318,181. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Citigroup reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.63.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.94. 21,153,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,042,023. The stock has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.50 and a 52-week high of $66.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.63 and its 200 day moving average is $57.44.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors 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 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%.

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.