Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Position Raised by United Community Bank

United Community Bank lifted its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,409 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems makes up about 1.3% of United Community Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. United Community Bank’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 66,920 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 44,220 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 94,246 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 44,787 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 10,860 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $63.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.63 and a 200-day moving average of $57.39. The company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.50 and a 52 week high of $66.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.62%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CSCO. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.63.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total transaction of $34,392.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,979,515.23. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total transaction of $180,055.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 207,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,299,563.62. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,348 shares of company stock valued at $4,318,181 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company 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.