Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,130 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,868 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 7,130 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.74. 16,735,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,016,135. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.95. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.50 and a 52 week high of $66.50. The firm has a market cap of $225.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. Research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is currently 71.62%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $21,616,318.05. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

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.