Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stock Position Decreased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its stake in Cisco by 12.3% in Q4, selling 16,885 shares and leaving it with 120,144 shares valued at about $9.26 million.
• Corporate insiders sold a total of 46,431 shares last quarter, including EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf's sale of 7,981 shares at $79.50 (a 4.09% reduction in her holding); insiders now own just 0.01% of the company.
• Cisco beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.04 vs. $1.02 and revenue of $15.35 billion (up 9.7% YoY), announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.42, and carries a market cap of about $340.7 billion with a consensus price target near $89.81.

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,144 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 16,885 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $9,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 15,042 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,203 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 15,917 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 12,349 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total value of $42,724.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,167,785.78. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $86.25 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $88.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.73. The firm has a market cap of $340.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The business had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Cisco Systems's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is 58.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CSCO. Truist Financial began coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Argus upgraded Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently 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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