Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Benin Management CORP

Benin Management CORP lowered its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,066 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises about 0.6% of Benin Management CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. West Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 574 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 222.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 661 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 171,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total value of $9,873,562.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 783,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,059,857.14. This trade represents a 17.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 58,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total transaction of $3,345,228.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 219,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,596,059. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 353,522 shares of company stock valued at $20,349,721. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Melius raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.50.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $62.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.92. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.50 and a twelve month high of $62.31. The company has a market capitalization of $247.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The network equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 25.70%. The company had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.67%.

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.