Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by Albion Financial Group UT

Key Points

• Albion Financial Group UT reduced its Cisco stake by 4.8%, selling 14,201 shares and leaving 282,343 shares valued at about $21.75 million (roughly 1.4% of its portfolio and its 20th largest holding).
• Multiple analysts raised price targets and ratings (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $91, CICC to $96; Argus and DZ Bank issued "strong-buy" calls), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $89.76.
• Cisco beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.04 vs. $1.02 expected) with revenue up 9.7% year-over-year to $15.35 billion, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 ($1.68 annual, ~2.1% yield).

Albion Financial Group UT reduced its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,343 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 14,201 shares during the period. Cisco Systems makes up about 1.4% of Albion Financial Group UT's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Albion Financial Group UT's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $21,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 96.2% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 115.7% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. CICC Research lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Argus raised Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.76.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $80.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.11 and a fifty-two week high of $88.18. The stock's 50-day moving average is $79.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.82. The stock has a market cap of $317.69 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,003,220. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CSCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report).

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.