Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Here's What Happened

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $62.19 and last traded at $63.24. Approximately 4,166,887 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 19,627,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.63.

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Cisco Systems Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $61.63 and its 200-day moving average is $57.39. The stock has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. 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. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 335,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,616,318.05. This represents a 5.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,348 shares of company stock valued at $4,318,181 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 160.4% during the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Company 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.