Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $88.22 and last traded at $87.81, with a volume of 5896523 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CSCO shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore upgraded Cisco Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.81.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.78. The stock has a market cap of $345.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,003,220. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 33,666 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 12,528 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 13,656 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Cairn Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 24,146 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.