Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 0.3% - Still a Buy?

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) were up 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.65 and last traded at $59.50. Approximately 3,087,595 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 20,201,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.05.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $237.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $58.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Cisco Systems announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,693,013.45. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, 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 valued at $4,275,553 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $3,297,905,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $4,571,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285,052 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $560,722,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 1,144.2% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,120,886 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $501,140,000 after acquiring an additional 7,468,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $413,491,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.