Value Partners Investments Inc. Reduces Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Value Partners Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 94.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,329 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 1,610,374 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for 3.4% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $6,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Pflug Koory LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 33,026 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,955,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 2,070 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,431 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,356 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.9%

CSCO stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.70. The stock had a trading volume of 10,480,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,315,126. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $66.50. The firm has a market cap of $252.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.94%.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cisco Systems

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.