Welch Group LLC Buys 799,313 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 550.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 944,561 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 799,313 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 2.5% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $57,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,571,218,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285,052 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $3,297,905,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,238,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,796,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,832,813 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,471,275 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,159,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,006 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Cisco Systems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,419,041 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,741,597,000 after buying an additional 681,555 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CSCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. New Street Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.00.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.81. The company had a trading volume of 25,829,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,244,721. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $66.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.30 and its 200 day moving average is $60.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is 66.94%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total transaction of $46,474.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,693,013.45. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,616 shares of company stock valued at $2,640,095. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company also offers switching portfolio encompasses campus switching as well as data center switching; enterprise routing portfolio interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering highly secure, and reliable connectivity to campus, data center and branch networks; wireless products include wireless access points and controllers; and compute portfolio including the cisco unified computing system, hyperflex, and software management capabilities, which combine computing, networking, and storage infrastructure management and virtualization.