Guidance Capital Inc. Purchases 3,015 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Guidance Capital Inc. increased its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,634 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,015 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $352,000. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 172,998 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,634,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 5.5% during the first quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 151,111 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after buying an additional 7,812 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.6% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 540,609 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,982,000 after buying an additional 18,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.2% during the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 10,476 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.51. 23,921,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,878,226. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.95 and a 1-year high of $58.19.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The network equipment provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.18. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.82% and a net margin of 21.88%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.42, for a total transaction of $34,610.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,352,210.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 2,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.34, for a total value of $118,745.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,997,250.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.42, for a total transaction of $34,610.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,788 shares in the company, valued at $2,352,210.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,106 shares of company stock worth $1,908,923 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.47.

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.