Crestline Management LP Buys 510,047 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Crestline Management LP raised its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 5,466.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 519,377 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 510,047 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 1.0% of Crestline Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $30,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 736,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CSCO. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.05.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CSCO traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.77. The company had a trading volume of 17,480,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,268,159. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $237.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.50 and a 1-year high of $66.50.

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 (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%. Research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. 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. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio 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.