Entropy Technologies LP Buys New Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 87,955 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 73,439,747 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,672,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345,954 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 68,463,463 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,417,011,000 after buying an additional 2,386,508 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $2,528,939,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,195,836 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,384,334,000 after buying an additional 3,314,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,941,271 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,260,033,000 after buying an additional 2,723,260 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of CSCO traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,635,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,604,998. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.91 and its 200-day moving average is $48.51. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.95 and a 52-week high of $58.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The network equipment provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.18. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 30.82%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 53.87%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 26,331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $1,213,859.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 725,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,439,234.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.42, for a total transaction of $34,610.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,352,210.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 26,331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $1,213,859.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 725,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,439,234.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,106 shares of company stock valued at $1,908,923. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.47.

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.