Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Sold by Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,820 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,078 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $6,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total transaction of $46,474.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,013.45. This trade represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 31,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $2,060,025.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 736,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,413,489.20. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock worth $4,275,553. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $59.77 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $66.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.47. The stock has a market cap of $237.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced 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 return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the network equipment provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Cisco Systems from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.05.

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.