Guardian Investment Management Sells 1,000 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Guardian Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,200 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises 1.2% of Guardian Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $645,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,243,073 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $236,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,607 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 10,540 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,763 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,429,518 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $135,470,000 after acquiring an additional 182,857 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:CSCO traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.10. 7,612,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,415,963. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.56 and a 12-month high of $58.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.71 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $697,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at $16,424,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $697,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at $16,424,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $124,850.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,441 shares of company stock worth $972,080. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.