ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 896,776 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 8,053 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 2.3% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $55,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CSCO. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,571,218,000 after buying an additional 13,285,052 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $3,297,905,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Cisco Systems by 11.4% during 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 during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.8% in the 4th 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 valued at $2,159,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,419,041 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,741,597,000 after purchasing an additional 681,555 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total transaction of $952,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,365,376.28. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 9,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $612,330.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 181,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,505,311. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,335 shares of company stock valued at $6,271,054. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.64. The company had a trading volume of 17,973,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,328,057. The company has a market capitalization of $275.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.90. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $69.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $63.67 and its 200-day moving average is $61.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.53.

Cisco Systems 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.