13,637 Shares in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Acquired by Diametric Capital LP

Diametric Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,637 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $807,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,297,905,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $560,722,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 327.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,819,000 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $362,907,000 after buying an additional 5,223,800 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 79.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 8,971,494 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $477,463,000 after acquiring an additional 3,975,028 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 193,489,477 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,297,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241,682 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $1,283,626.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 335,605 shares in the company, valued at $21,616,318.05. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CSCO opened at $61.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.50 and a 52 week high of $66.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.14 and a 200-day moving average of $58.69.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CSCO shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.63.

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.