Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 63.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,742,585 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 676,049 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 0.7% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $103,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,216,513 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,571,218,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285,052 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,297,905,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,238,258 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,796,505,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832,813 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,419,041 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,741,597,000 after acquiring an additional 681,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,161,261 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,015,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,563 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $63.92 on Tuesday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.50 and a 12 month high of $66.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $254.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 26.08%. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.94%.

Cisco Systems announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the network equipment provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $125,345.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $760,080.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 200,191 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,294.67. This trade represents a 5.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,635 shares of company stock valued at $931,901. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.