Sarasin & Partners LLP Cuts Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Sarasin & Partners LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 40.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 863,286 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 581,182 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises 1.2% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $101,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evanson Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,883,000. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 63,461 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,454,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 34.9% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 9,710 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balefire LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 12.6% in the second quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 7,966 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $120.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $476.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.37. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.75 and a fifty-two week high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. New Street Research raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect continued strength in AI infrastructure demand, supported by checks with hyperscale cloud and “neocloud” customers. UBS believes Cisco could exceed consensus revenue and earnings estimates for the July quarter as AI networking orders and campus-networking spending remain resilient. Cisco Systems to report amid expectations of continued AI infrastructure strength
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Cisco’s potential to participate in the AI networking boom through demand for high-speed connectivity, data-center infrastructure and related networking products. The company has been one of the Dow Jones’ strongest performers this year, reflecting optimism about its AI growth trajectory. Can Cisco Systems Lead the AI Networking Boom?
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is participating in Chainguard’s Athena Coalition alongside major technology and financial companies to help automate the remediation of open-source software vulnerabilities. The initiative reinforces Cisco’s cybersecurity ecosystem exposure, though it is unlikely to have an immediate material effect on revenue. Apiiro Joins Chainguard’s Athena Coalition
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s August 12 earnings announcement is the next major catalyst. Investor focus will be on AI-related orders, product demand, margins and management’s outlook after the company previously reported revenue growth and an earnings beat. Cisco Schedules Conference Call for Q4 Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded CSCO from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially pressuring the shares after their substantial yearly advance. Broader networking-stock commentary also points to cautious IT spending, higher costs and deployment delays as risks to near-term results. What’s in Store for These Networking Stocks This Earnings Season?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total transaction of $772,603.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,790,030.13. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,937,315.36. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.