Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Position Increased by Tower View Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Tower View Wealth Management LLC massively increased its stake in Cisco in Q4, boosting holdings by 2,865.9% to 16,342 shares (an additional 15,791 shares) worth about $1.26 million.
• Several large institutions — including Invesco, Northern Trust, Franklin Resources, Legal & General and Wellington — also raised positions, and about 73.33% of Cisco stock is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.76, alongside recent upgrades and buy-rated price targets from multiple firms.

Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 2,865.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,342 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 15,791 shares during the quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,668,182,000 after buying an additional 5,081,469 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,318,275,000 after buying an additional 1,631,703 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 4.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,641,483 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,917,530,000 after buying an additional 1,804,625 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,674,954 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,577,720,000 after buying an additional 2,535,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,748,414 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,309,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,498,375 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.76.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $82.35 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.33. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $88.18. The company has a market capitalization of $325.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total value of $169,395.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 28,807 shares in the company, valued at $2,239,456.18. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820 in the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.