Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,133,361 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 537,302 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Cisco Systems worth $185,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 13,285,052 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,297,905,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,238,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,796,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,832,813 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 7.8% during 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 worth $2,159,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 681,555 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $265,789.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,419,921.53. This represents a 9.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,616 shares of company stock worth $2,640,095. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.4%

CSCO stock traded down $0.24 on Friday, hitting $62.81. 25,829,006 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,244,721. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. The business's fifty day moving average is $59.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.12. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.50 and a twelve month 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 earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.94%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.