Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Has $95.08 Million Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its Q4 position by 1.3% but still owns 1,234,292 shares of Cisco (worth $95.08 million), representing about 2.9% of the fund's portfolio and its fourth-largest holding.
• Cisco beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.04 (vs. $1.02 est.) and revenue of $15.35 billion (+9.7% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68, ~1.9% yield).
• Insiders sold 46,431 shares (~$3.57 million) over the past three months, while analysts remain mostly positive — MarketBeat shows a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $89.81.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,234,292 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 15,782 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 2.9% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $95,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 96.2% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 115.7% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $86.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.78. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $88.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total transaction of $42,724.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,167,785.78. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.81.

Cisco Systems Company 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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