Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock price was down 1.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $76.94 and last traded at $77.74. Approximately 24,480,844 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 24,268,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CSCO. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.71 and a 200 day moving average of $73.48. The company has a market capitalization of $307.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 57.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,745 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $138,657.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 176,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,010,307.74. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $1,039,789.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,753,521.90. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 73,498 shares of company stock worth $5,641,815 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 531.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the third quarter valued at $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.