RWC Asset Management LLP Has $53.29 Million Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

RWC Asset Management LLP trimmed its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 900,120 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 658,983 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises 2.7% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $53,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 76.7% during 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 in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $63.98 on Monday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.50 and a 52-week high of $66.50. The stock has a market cap of $254.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.65 and its 200-day moving average is $56.30. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $2,060,025.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total value of $291,542.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,931 shares in the company, valued at $3,101,838.63. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,921 shares of company stock valued at $4,298,667 over the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Melius Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Melius raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.53.

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.