Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

CSCO has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.00.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.0%

CSCO opened at $63.62 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.69. 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 $253.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.89. Cisco Systems has a one year low of $44.50 and a one year high of $66.50.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 26.08% and a net margin of 16.96%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.62%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 approximately $11,604,868.80. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 11,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $760,080.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 200,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,886,294.67. The trade was a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,635 shares of company stock worth $931,901. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JDM Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 160.4% during the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Company 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.