Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 960,439 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 218,763 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $56,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,727,555 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $102,099,000 after acquiring an additional 594,146 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted 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 acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 21,080 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $1,195,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $63.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.50 and a 52 week high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given 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 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.67%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total transaction of $291,542.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,101,838.63. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 21,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.07, for a total transaction of $1,211,596.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 213,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,203,506.38. This trade represents a 9.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,239 shares of company stock worth $2,166,612. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

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.