Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 428,730 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 47,162 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems makes up about 0.7% of Vestcor Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $22,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,598,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 104.3% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 20,514 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 10,472 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.2% in the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,965 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC now owns 18,517 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 2,311 shares during the period. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 47,775 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.92, for a total transaction of $64,965.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 132,910 shares in the company, valued at $6,501,957.20. This trade represents a 0.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total transaction of $31,319.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,258,974.53. The trade was a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 351,860 shares of company stock worth $20,231,558. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CSCO. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.94.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $58.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $234.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.05. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $60.23.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The network equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.78 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 25.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 68.67%.

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.