Updating Cisco Systems Inc.

Article Excerpt

CISCO SYSTEMS INC. $30 (Nasdaq symbol CSCO, HighGrowth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 5.0 billion; Market cap: $150.0 billion; Price-tosales ratio: 3.1; Dividend yield: 3.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.cisco.com) makes hardware and software for linking and managing computer networks. The company paid its first quarterly dividend of $0.06 a share in March 2011. Since then, it has increased the payout six times. The current quarterly dividend of $0.26 has an annualized yield of 3.5%. Cisco aims to return at least 50% of its free cash flow (regular cash flow less cash used to buy property and equipment) to its investors in the form of dividends and share repurchases. In the fiscal year ended July 30, 2016, free cash flow totaled $12.4 billion. The company paid dividends of $4.75 billion (38.2% of that total) and spent $3.9 billion (31.5%) on buybacks. Cisco plans to cut 7% of its workforce as it shifts its focus from hardware to faster-growing software businesses…