Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators decreased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,278 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 1.1% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 10.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,931,461 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,402,432,000 after acquiring an additional 5,885,879 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 327.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,819,000 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $362,907,000 after buying an additional 5,223,800 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 5,231.5% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,935,107 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $262,646,000 after buying an additional 4,842,542 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 79.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 8,971,494 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $477,463,000 after buying an additional 3,975,028 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 193,489,477 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,297,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241,682 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Seven investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the firm’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total value of $180,055.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 207,798 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,563.62. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,921 shares of company stock worth $4,298,667. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO stock opened at $63.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $254.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.15. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.50 and a 1 year high of $66.50. 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 (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS 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 given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 71.62%.

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.

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.