Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lowered its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,584,336 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 74,081 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 2.3% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $93,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 9,029,594 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $480,555,000 after acquiring an additional 52,711 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 7.4% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,128 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 7,772 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,702 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 46,809 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $63.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $252.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $66.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.32 and a 200 day moving average of $57.06.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 71.62%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total transaction of $34,392.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,515.23. The trade was a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.87, for a total value of $449,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,946,331.05. The trade was a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,848 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,206. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.