Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI decreased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 539,796 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,139 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 2.6% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $31,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Melius upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.63.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $63.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $66.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.39.

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 the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. 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%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total transaction of $180,055.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 207,798 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,563.62. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 19,929 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $1,283,626.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,616,318.05. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 67,348 shares of company stock worth $4,318,181. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

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.