Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Acquired by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 306.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,450 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,562 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. FMR LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,571,218,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285,052 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,297,905,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,238,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,796,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,832,813 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,161,261 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,015,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO traded down $0.64 on Friday, reaching $63.62. 30,263,445 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,420,202. The business's 50-day moving average is $58.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.50 and a fifty-two week high of $66.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. 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 payout ratio is 71.62%.

Cisco Systems announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CSCO shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cisco Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.47.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,693,013.45. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,635 shares of company stock worth $931,901 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.