Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,034 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 97,718 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $798,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 4.5% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,188 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $1,097,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.9% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 137,503 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,318,000 after purchasing an additional 16,749 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $760,080.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 200,191 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,294.67. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $55.76 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.05. 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 has a market capitalization of $221.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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%. Analysts forecast 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 buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CSCO shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.74.

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.