Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 2,584 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,874 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,584 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its position in Cisco Systems by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 9,029,594 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $480,555,000 after acquiring an additional 52,711 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,490 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $9,127,000 after acquiring an additional 10,895 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 987,077 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,532,000 after purchasing an additional 9,045 shares during the last quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $691,000. Finally, FSA Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $267,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $63.24 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.75 and its 200-day moving average is $56.42. The firm has a market cap of $251.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.84. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.50 and a 1-year high of $66.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. Equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.87%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on CSCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $57.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.53.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.87, for a total transaction of $449,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,946,331.05. This represents a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total transaction of $34,392.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,767 shares in the company, valued at $2,979,515.23. The trade was a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,729 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,748. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems 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.