Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Cisco hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $88.22 (last at $87.81) during mid-day trading.
• Analyst sentiment is positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.81, as several firms raised targets (e.g., Citigroup to $90 and DZ Bank to strong-buy).
• Cisco beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $1.04 (vs. $1.02) and revenue of $15.35B, up 9.7% year-over-year, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68, ~1.9% yield).

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $88.22 and last traded at $87.81, with a volume of 5896523 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CSCO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HSBC raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, President Capital lowered their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.81.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is 58.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,040,000.62. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total value of $42,724.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,167,785.78. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 33,666 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,596,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 12,528 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 13,656 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cairn Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 24,146 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.

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