46,678 Shares in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Bought by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 46,678 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,483,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CSCO. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $112.15 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $442.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.02. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.13 and a 12-month high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. CICC Research raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.43.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a $135 price target and cited Cisco’s potential supply advantage through TSMC amid shortages affecting the AI infrastructure industry. The endorsement suggests analysts see room for further appreciation from current levels. Morgan Stanley keeps Cisco at $135 on TSMC supply edge
• Positive Sentiment: AI networking demand remains a key catalyst. Reports point to strong hyperscaler orders, networking growth, and Cisco’s expanding security portfolio as advantages over Hewlett Packard Enterprise for long-term investors. HPE vs. CSCO: Which Stock Has an Edge in the Networking Space?
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is expanding its partnership with NVIDIA around AI infrastructure and liquid-cooling systems, positioning the company to benefit as data centers adopt higher-density AI computing. Its Secure AI Factory initiative also embeds cybersecurity into AI deployments, potentially supporting software and security growth. Nvidia’s AI Chips Are Making Liquid Cooling the New Standard as Cisco Expands Its AI Bet Cisco Expands Secure AI Factory
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s move into rack-scale compute through a Supermicro-related AI infrastructure partnership could increase its share of AI buildout spending beyond traditional networking hardware. Cisco just broke its biggest hardware rule to chase the AI boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco gave all 90,000 employees access to personal AI agents, demonstrating internal AI adoption and potentially improving productivity, though the near-term financial impact is unclear. Cisco Gave All 90,000 Employees Their Own AI Agent
• Negative Sentiment: A customer success story describes Spicer Group replacing its Cisco-based networking stack with open-source VyOS across 13 sites. While only one customer example, it highlights the competitive risk from lower-cost, flexible alternatives. VyOS Powers Spicer Group’s Cisco-to-Open-Source Network Transformation

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,611 shares of company stock worth $6,066,680. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.