Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, May 23, 2025

Article Excerpt

CISCO SYSTEMS INC., $63.11, Nasdaq symbol CSCO, is a top pick for 2025. Through their shares, investors tap a global producer of hardware and software that links and manages computer networks. With the April 2025 payment, Cisco raised your quarterly dividend by 2.5%. Investors now receive $0.41 a share instead of $0.40. The new annual rate of $1.64 yields a solid 2.6%. The company also has $15.4 billion remaining under its current share buyback authorization. There are no time limits for those repurchases. In the past few years, Cisco has expanded its software operations. Steady revenue from subscriptions cuts its reliance on hardware sales. Under that plan, in March 2024, Cisco acquired Splunk Inc. (Nasdaq symbol SPLK) for $28 billion. The firm makes software that lets organizations analyze their data in real time. The purchase will enhance Cisco’s current cybersecurity software business. Their combined expertise in AI will also help clients better anticipate and prevent cyberattacks. That purchase helped lift the company’s revenue in its…