Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Acquires Shares of 6,984,640 Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,984,640 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $413,491,000. Cisco Systems makes up about 1.6% of Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.18% of Cisco Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.7 %

CSCO traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $59.98. The company had a trading volume of 8,172,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,196,871. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $58.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.38. The company has a market capitalization of $238.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. 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 one year low of $44.50 and a one year high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.62%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.05.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,693,013.45. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

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.