Cisco (CSCO) Moving Higher on Initiation of First Ever Dividend Yielding 1.41%

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) shares are up 2.24 percent to $17.38 in premarket trade on Friday, after the company announced the initiation of its first ever dividend.

The networking systems company 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.

The yield on the Cisco dividend is 1.41 percent.

"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," said Frank Calderoni, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Cisco. "This dividend complements our leading position, and is an important part of our commitment to bring value to shareholders."

The company had previously disclosed that a dividend was imminent.

Comparatively, rival Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE: HPQ) dividend of $0.08 yields 0.77 percent.

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