Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its Cisco stake by 2.6% in Q4, selling 85,542 shares and now holds 3,172,250 shares (about 0.08% of Cisco, worth roughly $244.4M).
• Several large funds — including Arrowstreet, Wellington, Invesco and Vanguard — materially increased positions in Cisco, and institutional investors now own about 73.33% of the stock.
• Cisco reported an earnings beat (EPS $1.04 vs. $1.02) and $15.35B revenue (up 9.7% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized yield ~1.9%).

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,172,250 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 85,542 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for about 0.5% of New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Cisco Systems worth $244,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CSCO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Cisco Systems by 110.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,259,369,000 after purchasing an additional 9,648,265 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Cisco Systems by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,748,414 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,309,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,498,375 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position 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 worth $3,668,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081,469 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $30,730,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $233,956,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 1.0%

CSCO stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.47. 3,019,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,225,719. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.83. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.68 and a 12-month high of $90.45.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. Cisco Systems's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is 58.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 11,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $854,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 262,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,970,976. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.81.

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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