Cisco stock

Since the height of the dot.com boom, the transformation of Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) has been extraordinary.

These days, the Silicon Valley Internet giant looks more and more like a dividend stock rather than an explosive growth company.

In fact, last Wednesday, the San Jose-based behemoth increased its dividend rate by a whopping 75% (from 8 cents per share to 14 cents) starting with the present quarter. That gives shares of Cisco a new dividend yield of roughly 3% which among the highest of major tech stocks.

For investors seeking a reasonably safe return and a less volatile investment, a great deal of value can be found in Cisco these days since the company now plans to return half of its cash flow to investors by way of dividends and stock buybacks.

And while the company may not post eye-popping revenue growth year-after-year, Cisco does appear poised to post healthy results and robust cash flow for years ahead.

That means Cisco's dividend will be both safe and stable.