Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price traded down 1.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $77.72 and last traded at $78.0950. 19,587,142 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 23,982,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.3%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 57.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $1,039,789.53. Following the sale, the director owned 61,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,753,521.90. This represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 11,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $854,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 262,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,970,976. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 75,677 shares of company stock valued at $5,811,211 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 24,562 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 12.4% during the second quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,017 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.