GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires 54,053 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• GF Fund Management increased its stake in Cisco by 6.9% in Q4, buying 54,053 shares to hold 833,419 shares worth $64.20 million, making Cisco 1.1% of the fund and its 19th largest position.
• Analysts rate Cisco an overall "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $89.81, and several firms have raised ratings/targets recently (e.g., Evercore to "outperform" with a $100 target; Truist started coverage at "buy" with $94).
• Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 from $0.41 (annualized $1.68), with an ex-dividend date of April 2 and payment on April 22, implying a yield of about 1.9%.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 833,419 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 54,053 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises 1.1% of GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $64,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CSCO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. President Capital lowered their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Evercore upgraded Cisco Systems from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, CICC Research raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, 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 transaction of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $86.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $340.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.83. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $88.18. 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 (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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Cisco Systems 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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