Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,098 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 747 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,553 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $325,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $454,000. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 65,500 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,878,000 after buying an additional 8,126 shares during the period. Finally, Schubert & Co acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Melius raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 207,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,563.62. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total value of $34,392.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,515.23. This represents a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,921 shares of company stock valued at $4,298,667. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $64.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.84. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.50 and a fifty-two week high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly 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 25.70% and a net margin of 17.73%. Research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.97 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. 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. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.67%.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.