Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stake Cut by Flaharty Asset Management LLC

Flaharty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,382 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 256,099 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $15,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 201,389 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $11,922,000 after purchasing an additional 6,333 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $355,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $24,148,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $64.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $66.50. The company has a market capitalization of $255.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total transaction of $34,392.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,767 shares in the company, valued at $2,979,515.23. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,848 shares of company stock worth $4,767,206. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CSCO shares. BNP Paribas raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.63.

Cisco Systems 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.