Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 94.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,329 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 1,610,374 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems makes up 0.2% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $6,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 76.7% in 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. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Cisco Systems stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.73. The stock had a trading volume of 15,874,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,121,737. The stock has a market cap of $221.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a PEG 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $60.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.06. 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 (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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. BNP Paribas raised Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $1,283,626.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 335,605 shares in the company, valued at $21,616,318.05. This trade represents a 5.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

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.