Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Position Cut by Utah Retirement Systems

Utah Retirement Systems lowered its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 662,263 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 8,800 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $39,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $3,297,905,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $4,571,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285,052 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $560,722,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,238,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,796,505,000 after buying an additional 4,832,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,986,627 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $295,208,000 after buying an additional 2,936,567 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.33. 18,752,989 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,258,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.50 and a 52-week high of $66.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business's fifty day moving average price is $59.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.32.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. Analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.62%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total transaction of $46,474.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock valued at $4,275,553. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.05.

About Cisco Systems

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.