Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. cut its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,165 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,203 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC now owns 6,017 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. August Group Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 2.0% during the second quarter. August Group Capital Ltd now owns 4,723 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Insights Inc. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.5% during the first quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure collaboration: Cisco and NVIDIA are developing a 400G optical standard for AI data centers, designed to increase bandwidth density and support an open hardware ecosystem. The initiative could strengthen Cisco’s position in large-scale AI networking. Cisco Backs a New 400G Optical Standard for AI Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand and sales momentum: Cisco’s AI infrastructure spending and campus-network upgrades are supporting demand. Analysts also highlighted the company’s 17.6% year-over-year quarterly sales growth—the fastest pace in roughly a decade—as evidence of improving fundamentals. How Rare Is Cisco’s Record Sales Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Relative valuation appeal: A comparison with Astera Labs argues that Cisco offers greater potential upside at a lower valuation while benefiting from robust networking demand, though Astera has delivered stronger recent stock performance. ALAB vs. CSCO: Which AI Infrastructure Stock Is a Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recurring-revenue question: Investors are assessing whether Cisco can sustain software and support renewals after the current equipment-upgrade cycle slows. Recurring revenue would provide stability, but the articles do not offer new renewal data. Can Software Renewals Outlast the Networking Upgrade Cycle?
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and headline risks: Arista Networks has outperformed Cisco in AI networking, underscoring competitive concerns. Separately, Cisco’s multimillion-dollar donation to a White House ballroom project could create reputational or political controversy, although it has no direct financial impact disclosed. Nvidia and Cisco Confirm Donations to White House Ballroom

Cisco Systems Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $107.39 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.95 and a 1-year high of $130.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total value of $2,412,387.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,226,273.40. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,938.96. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability solutions for businesses, government organizations and service providers. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data-center infrastructure, security software and services, as well as technologies that support cloud and hybrid IT environments.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex portfolio, cloud-managed networking through Cisco Meraki and security and observability capabilities that include technologies from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.