Optas LLC Has $3.16 Million Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Optas LLC sharply increased its Cisco stake, boosting holdings 189.1% in Q4 by buying 26,818 shares to own 41,002 shares valued at $3.16 million (about 0.5% of its portfolio).
• Insiders have been sellers recently: CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares and insiders disposed of 46,431 shares (~$3.57M) over the past 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.01% ownership.
• Cisco’s results and outlook are constructive: Q earnings slightly beat estimates with revenue up 9.7%, the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.42 (1.9% yield), and analysts have a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $89.81 target.

Optas LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 189.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,002 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 26,818 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 0.5% of Optas LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Optas LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CSCO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 118.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $6,289,000 after buying an additional 590,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 671,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,003,220. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 11,248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $854,848.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 262,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,970,976. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 over the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of CSCO opened at $87.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $88.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.Cisco Systems's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CSCO. Argus upgraded Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.81.

About Cisco Systems

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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