Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $64.64 and last traded at $63.95. Approximately 5,348,999 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 19,282,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.53.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $255.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the network equipment provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 3,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.19, for a total transaction of $180,055.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 207,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,563.62. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,729 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,748 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. JDM Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 160.4% during the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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.