Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 93.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,104 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 469,015 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 595,010 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $35,225,000 after acquiring an additional 109,526 shares during the period. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,552 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $7,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 29,908 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,000. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 212,406 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $12,574,000 after buying an additional 13,475 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $60.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.60. The company has a market cap of $242.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.50 and a 1-year high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total transaction of $46,474.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $1,283,626.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,616,318.05. This trade represents a 5.61 % 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 in the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.