Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lowered its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,664 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,101 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for about 1.8% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $5,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 42,080 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 67.6% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 6,170 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,865 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 66,204 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Melius cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CSCO traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.19. 9,423,129 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,134,465. The company has a market cap of $191.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.56 and a fifty-two week high of $58.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.92 and its 200-day moving average is $49.97.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $124,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $697,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 328,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,424,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $124,850.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,441 shares of company stock valued at $972,080 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.