Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,060,740 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 36.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,575,082 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,060,740 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $211,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $59.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $236.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.86. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.50 and a 52-week high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The network equipment provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.14). Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $125,345.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 762 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.99, for a total value of $46,474.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 44,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,693,013.45. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,547 shares of company stock valued at $4,275,553. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSCO has been the subject of several research reports. Melius Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Cisco Systems from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.05.

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.