Argyle Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,233 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,600 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 1.4% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 71,385 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,838,000 after buying an additional 23,194 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 6,405 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 64,136 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,685,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,470,521 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $240,335,000 after buying an additional 49,700 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $47.86. 14,658,910 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,851,638. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.56 and a 1-year high of $58.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The network equipment provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $12.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $124,850.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $124,850.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard Scott Herren sold 13,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $697,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 328,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,424,550. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,441 shares of company stock worth $972,080. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company 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.