Convergence Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,098 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 747 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $1,283,626.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,616,318.05. This represents a 5.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $2,060,025.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,921 shares of company stock valued at $4,298,667 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.53.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.4 %

Cisco Systems stock opened at $64.59 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $257.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.84. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.50 and a fifty-two week high of $66.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.89.

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

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.67%.

Cisco Systems Company 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.