Cooper Financial Group Raises Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Key Points

• Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 113.3% in the first quarter, owning a total of 32,940 shares valued at approximately $2,033,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Fairway Wealth LLC and JDM Financial Group LLC, have also significantly increased their positions in Cisco, reflecting growing institutional interest with 73.33% of the stock currently held by such investors.
• Analysts have responded positively to Cisco's performance, with many upgrades; for instance, Citigroup raised its target price from $68.00 to $71.00, indicating a shift towards a more bullish outlook.

Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 113.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,940 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.4% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 37,128 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.1% during the first quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 551,605 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $34,040,000 after buying an additional 5,743 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the first quarter worth $414,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 10.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,117,146 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,907,599,000 after buying an additional 4,437,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 12.4% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,455 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 2,804 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total transaction of $952,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,365,376.28. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 9,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total value of $612,330.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 181,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,505,311. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,335 shares of company stock valued at $6,271,054 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSCO traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.38. 21,677,845 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,299,121. The firm has a market cap of $282.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $67.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.11. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $44.89 and a one year high of $72.55.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. New Street Research restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.55.

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.