Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Position Boosted by Morton Community Bank

Morton Community Bank raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,442 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 33,026 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,984 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,791 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,591 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total value of $34,392.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,979,515.23. The trade was a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total value of $180,055.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 207,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,299,563.62. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 67,348 shares of company stock worth $4,318,181. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CSCO shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday. Melius raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.63.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $63.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.44. The stock has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued 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 return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. Analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.62%.

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.