Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,411 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 975 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 0.8% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,693 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 3.6% during the third quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,686 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 19.3% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC now owns 8,970 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the third quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,525 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,974,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,064,670. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.70 and a fifty-two week high of $58.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.63%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $124,850.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $697,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,424,550. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $124,850.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,441 shares of company stock worth $972,080. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Melius downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

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.