Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stake Lessened by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,390 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 35,175 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 21,080 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. TFB Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 736,011 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $43,572,000 after buying an additional 7,736 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Melius upgraded 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. Melius Research raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total value of $291,542.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,101,838.63. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 171,744 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total transaction of $9,873,562.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 783,786 shares in the company, valued at $45,059,857.14. This represents a 17.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 353,522 shares of company stock valued at $20,349,721 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $62.53 on Thursday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.50 and a 52-week high of $63.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $249.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.84 and its 200-day moving average is $55.31.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its 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 17.73% and a return on equity of 25.70%. Equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.67%.

Cisco Systems announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.