Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 56,186,651 shares, a decrease of 13.7% from the March 15th total of 65,121,716 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,437,256 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position 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 valued at $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its position 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 valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cairn Investment Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. CICC Research boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Argus upgraded Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.81.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 2.1%

Cisco Systems stock opened at $86.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Cisco Systems has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $88.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.73. The firm has a market cap of $340.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 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 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.95%.

About Cisco Systems

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.