Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 89.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,543 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 160,376 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. United Bank bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $645,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 32.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,243,073 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $236,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,607 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.1% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 10,540 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 21.5% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,763 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.1% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,429,518 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,470,000 after purchasing an additional 182,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $47.92 on Wednesday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $45.56 and a one year high of $58.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.18 and a 200-day moving average of $50.32. The company has a market capitalization of $194.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 23.49%. The company had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.19 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 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $150,130.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 191,559 shares in the company, valued at $9,579,865.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $697,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at $16,424,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $150,130.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 191,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,579,865.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,441 shares of company stock worth $972,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup began coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

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.