Sienna Gestion Sells 139,280 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Sienna Gestion cut its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,315 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 139,280 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for about 0.9% of Sienna Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $13,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 76.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $46,474.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock valued at $4,275,553 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO stock opened at $59.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.63. The company has a market capitalization of $237.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.50 and a 52-week high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. Research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.63.

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.