Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Acquired by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,039,233 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 283,545 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 2.2% of AIA Group Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $52,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. United Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 1st quarter worth $645,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 worth $236,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,607 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 13.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 21.5% during the 1st 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 increased its position in Cisco Systems by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,429,518 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $135,470,000 after purchasing an additional 182,857 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $124,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Cisco Systems news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $697,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,424,550. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $124,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,906,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,441 shares of company stock valued at $972,080 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.03.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CSCO stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.12. 8,068,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,420,064. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.31. The firm has a market cap of $194.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.56 and a fifty-two week high of $58.19.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 48.63%.

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.