Friday, March 18, 2011

Cisco (CSCO) Offers Dividend for First Time, Shares Up

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) are getting a boost today as the company announced it will offer its first dividend to shareholders.

Cisco said they will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.06, or $0.24 annualized. The dividend will be payable on April 20 to shareholders of record on March 31. The ex-dividend date is March 29.

Frank Calderoni, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, said, "As the role of the network expands across the IT sector, Cisco's leadership position in the markets we serve is strong, and the time is right for Cisco to pay our first-ever cash dividend. This dividend complements our leading position, and is an important part of our commitment to bring value to shareholders."

The yield on the Cisco dividend is 1.41 percent.

Cisco was trading at $17.22, up $0.22, or 1.29 percent, as of 11:46 AM EST.

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