Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 87,660 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 81% compared to the typical volume of 48,335 call options.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $2,060,025.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,413,489.20. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

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

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.82. 18,543,373 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,532,275. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.77. Cisco Systems has a 1 year low of $44.50 and a 1 year high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.63.

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.