5 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Kerr Neilson’s Hedge Fund

2. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Stake Value of Platinum Asset Management: $2,262,000 

Percentage of Platinum Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.06%

Divided Yield as of April 12: 2.87%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57

On February 16, 2022, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.38 per share, up 3% from the previous quarter’s dividend. The common stock cash dividend is payable on April 27 to investors of record on April 6. Moreover, the company’s board of directors approved a $15 billion increase for its stock repurchase program. There is no fixed termination date for the repurchase program, bringing the total authorized amount to $18 billion.

This February, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced that its fiscal second-quarter 2022 revenues came to $12.72 billion, up 6.35% year over year, and beat revenue estimates by $63.63 million. Moreover, the company reported earnings per share of $0.84, beating estimates by $0.03. On February 17, 2022, Barclays analyst Tim Long raised his price target on Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) to $68 from $61 and reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst sees upside for the stock citing the IT sector’s continued recovery along with the company’s strong earnings.

By the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 57 hedge funds were long Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) having stakes worth $3.42 billion. Platinum Asset Management’s stakes in the company, as of December 31, 2021, were valued at $2.2 million. The investment covers 0.02% of Kerr Neilson’s hedge fund portfolio.

ClearBridge Investments mentioned Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in its third-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:

“We reinvested a portion of the proceeds into existing holding Cisco Systems, which also has highly valuable technology and an improving secular growth story with its leading position in core networking hardware, as well as in its growing software and services business. Cisco has refocused on winning share in the large and growing hyperscale market and has been investing aggressively in R&D to support growth. We believe Cisco has found new legs after previously ceding some growth opportunities in cloud while maintaining its strong presence in the carrier and enterprise markets. Cisco boasts a strong balance sheet and accelerating multiyear growth while trading at a modest multiple of earnings.”