Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Holdings Trimmed by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 416,771 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,959 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for 0.8% of Vestcor Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $24,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1,145.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 432,463 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,602,000 after acquiring an additional 397,726 shares in the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $3,750,000. Liberty Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,646 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,537,633 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $91,028,000 after acquiring an additional 42,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 6,715 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CSCO opened at $60.46 on Thursday. 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 $240.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 71.62%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.63.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 over the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.