Sit Investment Associates Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 11.9% during the first quarter, owning 144,275 shares valued at about $8.9 million.
• Cisco Systems recently reported earnings of $0.99 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Cisco, with the average target now set at $72.90, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,275 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,350 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $8,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. JDM Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 160.4% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 224.7% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 578 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $69.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $67.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.28. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.85 and a 1 year high of $72.55.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The network equipment provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 27.24%. The company had revenue of $14.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.27, for a total value of $57,778.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 255,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,413,079.79. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 2,407 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $154,072.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,331,498.27. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,731 shares of company stock valued at $5,021,519. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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