Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 13,770 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in Cisco by 1.7%, buying 13,770 shares to own 833,033 shares valued at $64.17 million, making Cisco its second-largest holding (~3.3% of the fund).
• Cisco beat quarterly estimates with $1.04 EPS vs. $1.02 expected and $15.35B revenue (up 9.7% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 ($1.68 annualized, ~2.0% yield).
• Insiders have been net sellers (46,431 shares worth $3.57M over the last 90 days) while institutional ownership sits at 73.33%, and analysts hold an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a $89.76 price target.

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 833,033 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 13,770 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 3.3% of Willis Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $64,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $3,668,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081,469 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $3,318,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,641,483 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,917,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,625 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,674,954 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,577,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535,716 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,748,414 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,309,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,498,375 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $83.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $330.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $52.67 and a one year high of $88.18. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.96.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares in the company, valued at $51,003,220. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CSCO. President Capital cut their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.76.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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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