Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 655,412 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 24.7% in Q1, now owning over 3.3 million shares worth approximately $204 million, making it the 22nd largest position in its investment portfolio.
• Cisco Systems reported a 12-month revenue increase of 11.4%, with earnings per share of $0.96, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.92 for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, yielding 2.39% annually, and its payout ratio is currently at 66.94%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,312,029 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 655,412 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 0.6% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.08% of Cisco Systems worth $204,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,392,000 after acquiring an additional 24,562 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $650,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,850,704 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $168,743,000 after purchasing an additional 294,348 shares during the period. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 6,659 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CSCO shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.35.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 2,407 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $154,072.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,331,498.27. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 8,726 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.54, for a total transaction of $571,902.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 174,669 shares in the company, valued at $11,447,806.26. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,335 shares of company stock worth $6,271,054. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.45. 5,772,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,167,396. The company has a market cap of $271.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.90. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.50 and a twelve month high of $69.78. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $66.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.94%.

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.