New England Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

New England Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,646 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 17,250 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 1.3% of New England Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $7,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSCO traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.62. The company had a trading volume of 30,263,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,420,203. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.50 and a 1-year high of $66.50. The firm has a market cap of $253.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average price is $58.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.66. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.62%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,604,868.80. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $760,080.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 200,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,886,294.67. The trade was a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,635 shares of company stock worth $931,901 over the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. New Street Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas raised Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

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.