Cisco Systems Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 71,548 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 34% compared to the typical volume of 53,501 call options.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CSCO traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.46. 28,173,705 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,144,939. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $229.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.83. Cisco Systems has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $59.38.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 25.62%. The company had revenue of $13.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 68.67%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 22,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,115,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 293,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,659,200. This trade represents a 7.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 8,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.33, for a total value of $416,229.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,821,929.52. This trade represents a 5.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,924 shares of company stock worth $1,798,131. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $25,000. West Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 574 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 222.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 661 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

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.