Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Purchased by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2,271.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,201 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,759 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $63.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.39. 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 $254.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79.

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 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 predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.62%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $2,060,025.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $1,283,626.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,605 shares in the company, valued at $21,616,318.05. This represents a 5.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 67,348 shares of company stock worth $4,318,181. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.