Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) was up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $64.75 and last traded at $64.70. Approximately 2,849,340 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 19,574,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CSCO shares. Melius upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.53.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on CSCO

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.01. The stock has a market cap of $254.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total value of $291,542.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,101,838.63. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 207,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,563.62. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,921 shares of company stock worth $4,298,667 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the third quarter worth about $798,000. HighVista Strategies LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,698,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,357 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after buying an additional 10,813 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth $502,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 17.0% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 635,667 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,830,000 after acquiring an additional 92,179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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