Fusion Capital LLC Grows Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Fusion Capital LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,554 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,746 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for 2.9% of Fusion Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Fusion Capital LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $7,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $760,080.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 200,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,294.67. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total value of $180,055.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 207,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,563.62. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,848 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,206. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $63.81 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.66. The company has a market capitalization of $253.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Melius Research raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment 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, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.63.

About Cisco Systems

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.