In this article, we discuss the 5 best dividend stocks to buy according to billionaire Cliff Asness. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Asness’ history and hedge fund performance, go directly to the 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Cliff Asness.
5. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Asness’s Stake Value: $520,654,000
Percentage of Cliff Asness’s 13F Portfolio: 0.85%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
Dividend yield: 2.73%
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a technology and communications equipment company that sells internet protocol-based networking and other products as part of the communications and information technology industry. The company operates in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Africa, Japan, and China. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) ranks 5th on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy according to billionaire Cliff Asness.
On June 14th, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) got a $1.18 billion contract for the brand name Cisco Smart Net Total Care and Software Support Services for users in the Department of Defense. The company’s new dividend of $0.37 per share is also recent, as it was announced in May and will be payable on July 28th. In its first-quarter 2021 report, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) revealed its revenue to be $12.88 billion, significantly higher than the previous quarter’s $11.96 billion revenue. Its earnings for the first quarter were announced to stand at $2.86 billion. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) also beat EPS estimates for the quarter by $0.01 with its $0.83 EPS. The company gained 21.13% in the past 6 months and 23.23% year to date and has a forward PE ratio of 16.86.
In the first quarter of 2021, 59 hedge funds held stakes in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) worth over $5.19 billion. While the number of hedge fund holders has decreased by 1 between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, the stake value has increased since in Q4’20 it was $4.97 billion. AQR Capital holds over 10 million shares in the company worth over $520 million.
Like PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), The Procter and Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), and Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a dividend stock worth investing in.
ClearBridge Investments, in its Q1 2021 investor letter, mentioned Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO). Here is what ClearBridge Investments has to say about Cisco Systems, Inc. in its letter:
“Also in IT, we added Cisco Systems, which provides IT and networking services in the form of network security, software development and cloud computing. Cisco continues to derive over 50% of its sales from on-premise deployments of its products of enterprise and small and midsize customers, while recurring revenues from software are becoming a larger part of the mix. Return-to-office enterprise spending should offer upside to its core campus business. Cisco was an early technology leader in sustainability over two decades ago, through its Internet-connecting capabilities which supported live concerts in partnership with the United Nations Development Program to raise awareness and funds to fight poverty. Cisco has very strong environmental standards (including driving lower energy consumption in IT departments through new product innovations and a longstanding goal to reduce emissions and reliance on non-renewable energy sources). Its data privacy and supply chain management policies are best in class.”
