Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 801,572 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,560 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems makes up about 2.1% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $40,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 48.1% in the third quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 71,385 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 23,194 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 64,136 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,685,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,470,521 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $240,335,000 after purchasing an additional 49,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,674 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $9,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.4 %

CSCO traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,962,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,502,734. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.56 and a 52-week high of $58.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $195.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. Cisco Systems’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $697,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,424,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Cisco Systems news, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at $16,424,550. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 3,002 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,579,865.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,441 shares of company stock valued at $972,080. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

Cisco Systems Profile

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.