Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Given New $63.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on CSCO. StockNews.com raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.53.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $63.84 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $254.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.84. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $44.50 and a 52 week high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 25.70%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 68.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total transaction of $291,542.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,931 shares in the company, valued at $3,101,838.63. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total transaction of $180,055.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 207,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,563.62. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,239 shares of company stock worth $2,166,612 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,683,541 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $395,269,000 after purchasing an additional 382,804 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 81.8% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,331,911 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $256,449,000 after buying an additional 1,949,145 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,311,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,048,300 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $121,259,000 after purchasing an additional 89,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

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.