Brown Advisory Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,087,821 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 14,790 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $64,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 2,070 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. raised 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. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $2,060,025.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 736,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 a total of 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 over the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Seven equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.05.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $59.33 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. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $66.50. The company has a market cap of $236.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $59.20 and its 200-day moving average is $59.36.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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