Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC cut its position in Cisco by 30.7%, selling 142,048 shares and ending the quarter with 320,204 shares valued at about $24.67 million.
• Major institutions hold the bulk of the stock—73.33% is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, with Vanguard holding roughly 398.94 million shares (~$30.73 billion) and firms like Arrowstreet, Wellington and Invesco materially increasing stakes.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 46,431 shares (~$3.57 million) in the last 90 days while Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68, ~1.9% yield).

Vest Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,204 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 142,048 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $24,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 9,648,265 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 worth $2,309,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,498,375 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $30,730,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $233,956,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total value of $42,724.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,167,785.78. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $86.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.46 and a twelve month high of $90.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.30 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $80.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.75.

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

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CSCO. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus raised Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.81.

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.

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