Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,718 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,084 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 1.1% of Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $4,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $798,000. HighVista Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,698,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,357 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 10,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $502,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $760,080.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 200,191 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,294.67. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $2,060,025.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CSCO shares. Melius upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.63.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $60.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.50 and a 1 year high of $66.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.98.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its 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 return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 71.62%.

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.