Stablepoint Partners LLC Sells 14,646 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Stablepoint Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,090 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 14,646 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $5,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $4,571,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285,052 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,297,905,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,238,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,796,505,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832,813 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,471,275 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,159,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,637,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,419,041 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,741,597,000 after acquiring an additional 681,555 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $64.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.27. The firm has a market cap of $255.90 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.88. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.50 and a 1 year high of $66.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is 66.94%.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,185 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $265,789.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,419,921.53. This trade represents a 9.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,616 shares of company stock worth $2,640,095. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cisco Systems 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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