Invesco Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Invesco Ltd. lessened its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,679,696 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 810,358 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 0.5% of Invesco Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.07% of Cisco Systems worth $2,526,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 33,026 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 2.3% during 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. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,984 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,791 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 172 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 762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 4.8 %

CSCO opened at $54.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $216.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.50 and a fifty-two week high of $66.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CSCO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.63.

Cisco Systems 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.