Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Decreases Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,335,268 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 120,300 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for about 0.8% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $79,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.53.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 4,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total transaction of $291,542.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,921 shares of company stock worth $4,298,667 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $63.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $254.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.65 and its 200 day moving average is $56.22. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.50 and a 52 week high of $66.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 69.87%.

Cisco Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.