MSH Capital Advisors LLC Takes $2.31 Million Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 39,029 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,311,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pflug Koory LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 33,026 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 2,070 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,984 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CSCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ CSCO traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,874,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,149,900. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.82 and a 200 day moving average of $59.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.50 and a twelve month high of $66.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is an increase 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 currently 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.