E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Trims Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,671 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,766 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JB Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 15.0% in the third quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 154,371 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,299,000 after buying an additional 20,151 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 9.6% during the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 48,730 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 4,283 shares in the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 14.2% in the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $404,000. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 17,252 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.79. 12,198,880 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,946,561. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.68. The company has a market cap of $193.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $58.19.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released 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. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $12.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 48.63%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 $2,906,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 3,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $150,130.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 191,559 shares in the company, valued at $9,579,865.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 $2,906,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,441 shares of company stock valued at $972,080. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.53.

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.