Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Cisco by 3.2% in Q4 to 4,873,274 shares, now worth about $375.4 million (roughly 0.12% of the company).
• Insiders sold 46,431 shares worth $3.57 million in the last quarter, including notable sales by EVPs Oliver Tuszik and Deborah L. Stahlkopf, modestly trimming their positions.
• Cisco beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.04 and revenue of $15.35 billion (up 9.7% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (≈1.8% yield), and holds a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $89.81.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,873,274 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 151,395 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Cisco Systems worth $375,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $92.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.07. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.58 and a 52-week high of $93.10.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released 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. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CSCO shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Cisco Systems from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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