Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $62.89 and last traded at $62.80. 5,578,887 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 19,579,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.48.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.63.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CSCO
Cisco Systems Trading Up 1.1 %
The firm has a market capitalization of $254.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.20. 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 issued its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.
Cisco Systems Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.
Cisco Systems announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity at Cisco Systems
In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $760,080.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 200,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,886,294.67. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total transaction of $180,055.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 207,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,563.62. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,848 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,206 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $798,000. HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,698,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,357 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 10,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $502,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Cisco Systems
(
Get 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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Cisco Systems, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Cisco Systems wasn't on the list.
While Cisco Systems currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
If a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know? MarketBeat just compiled its list of the twelve stocks that corporate insiders are abandoning. Complete the form below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
