Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $313 Million Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its Cisco stake by 5.1%, selling 219,385 shares and now holds 4,077,209 shares worth about $313 million, making CSCO its 22nd-largest position (~0.5% of the firm's portfolio).
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $89.81 consensus price target, while several analysts raised targets (CICC and JPMorgan to ~$96) amid mixed buy/hold coverage.
• Cisco recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.04 vs. $1.02; revenue $15.35B vs. $15.11B, +9.7% YoY) and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.42 ($1.68 annually, ~1.9% yield).

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,077,209 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 219,385 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises about 0.5% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.10% of Cisco Systems worth $313,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CSCO shares. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.81.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.3%

Cisco Systems stock opened at $89.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $354.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $79.95 and its 200-day moving average is $77.07. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.58 and a fifty-two week high of $89.80. 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 (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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. Cisco Systems's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,167,785.78. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

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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