Correction: according to Cisco PR, buyback extended by $10B; Sept. 2001 to-date total buybacks completed of $67.5B; previous remaining funds for buybacks of $4.5B; new grand total buyback of $77.5B possible if $10B spent, no deadline for buybacks. Regarding dividend, announcement due this fiscal year (FYE Jul. '11). seekingalpha.com/news-...
Cisco has previously said it will pay a dividend at a yield of 1%-2%. I believe an announcement by the board is expected by year's end, making it payable sometime next year. Regarding buybacks, Cisco has spent $67.5 billion (yes billion!), if memory serves me correctly, over the past decade and will spend another $4.5 billion, as its board recently approved an extension to its buyback program. While I also think Cisco looks interesting here, I am discouraged by the the fact that it has spent so much on buybacks and seen its stock really go nowhere at the end of a decade's worth of intervention. Further, unless Cisco grows its dividend by high-single or double digits, I would really want to get in at a lower price. The board/management doesn't seem as if it would pay a sizable special dividend, or even one at all, as it is likely considering acquisitions instead. Cisco is not far from $18/share, but I'd like to buy at the $17-level, solidly under 10x forward earnings.
Cisco Shares Are Dirt Cheap [View article]
Cisco Shares Are Dirt Cheap [View article]