Westpac Banking Corp Sells 9,887 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has decreased its stake in Cisco Systems by 5.1%, now holding 184,291 shares valued at approximately $11.37 million, reflecting its 18th largest holding.
• Cisco Systems reported a net margin of 17.60% and a 26.48% return on equity in its latest quarterly earnings, outperforming analysts' expectations for earnings per share.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 66.94%.

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,291 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 9,887 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for about 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $11,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Legacy Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Cisco Systems by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 17,361 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 3,433 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 69,220 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $4,272,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Cisco Systems by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,803 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 15,678 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.52, for a total value of $1,027,222.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 309,543 shares in the company, valued at $20,281,257.36. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 9,643 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $612,330.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 181,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,505,311. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,335 shares of company stock valued at $6,271,054 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Cisco Systems stock traded down $1.07 on Wednesday, reaching $70.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,526,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,563,762. The company has a market capitalization of $278.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $67.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.21. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.04 and a 52 week high of $72.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 17.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. New Street Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Friday, May 16th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.55.

About Cisco Systems

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.