These tech giants still have strong appeal

Article Excerpt

CISCO SYSTEMS INC. $57 (Nasdaq symbol CSCO; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 4.4 billion; Market cap: $250.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.cisco.com) makes hardware and software that links and manages computer networks. With the April 2019, Cisco raised its quarterly dividend by 6.1%, to $0.35 a share from $0.33. The new annual rate of $1.40 yields 2.5%. In its fiscal 2019 second quarter, ended January 26, 2019, Cisco’s sales rose 6.0%, to $12.4 billion from $11.7 billion a year earlier. Revenues were higher due to strong sales of both applications and security products. If you exclude unusual items, earnings in the quarter rose 6.5%, to $3.3 billion from $3.1 billion a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose at a faster rate of 15.9%, to $0.73 from $0.63, on fewer shares outstanding. Cisco’s strong balance sheet will continue to support its expansion plans while giving it lots of cash for dividends. As of January 26, 2019, it held cash and investments…