Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Acquired by Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 233.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,000 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,800 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises 1.0% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $4,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CSCO. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 704 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.32. The company had a trading volume of 20,964,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,323,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.37. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.56 and a 1-year high of $58.19. The company has a market cap of $195.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.07 and a 200-day moving average of $50.23.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $697,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,424,550. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 3,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $150,130.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,579,865.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $697,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at $16,424,550. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,441 shares of company stock valued at $972,080. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CSCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

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.