153,539 Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel decreased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 730,663 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 153,539 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises 3.4% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $78,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CSCO. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,203 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. August Group Capital Ltd lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. August Group Capital Ltd now owns 4,723 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Insights Inc. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.5% during the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $650,093.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% 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 90 days, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.39. 4,218,543 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,150,180. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.85 and a fifty-two week high of $130.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco introduced AI networking platforms based on its Silicon One P200, G300 and G302 chips, including 102.4-terabit systems, 1.6T optical modules and liquid-cooling capabilities. Its collaboration with NVIDIA, TE Connectivity and Amphenol on next-generation optical technology reinforces Cisco’s position in expanding AI data-center infrastructure. Cisco AI networking platforms article
• Positive Sentiment: An earnings preview highlighted management’s guidance for approximately 21% year-over-year revenue growth and 33% EPS growth, along with Cisco’s history of exceeding estimates. Agentic AI adoption and infrastructure contracts, including a Bell Canada deal, could support the company’s growth outlook. Cisco earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: New Splunk research positions observability as an important solution to rising AI-agent costs and reliability risks. Nearly nine in 10 respondents view AI monitoring as a priority, potentially creating additional demand for Cisco’s security and observability products. Splunk State of Observability 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: World Wide Technology earned Cisco’s Secure AI Infrastructure Specialization, strengthening Cisco’s partner ecosystem and channel reach, although the announcement did not disclose a specific revenue commitment. World Wide Technology Cisco specialization
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary argues the AI infrastructure buildout may be in its early stages, with networking, power and cooling among the beneficiaries. Cisco is viewed as a potential beneficiary if enterprise AI spending continues, but the thesis depends on sustained order growth and profitability. Tom Lee Cisco AI commentary
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis downgraded Cisco to Hold after a roughly 46% year-to-date rally, saying the shares are near fair value. Hardware mix could pressure gross margins, while elevated valuation multiples reduce the margin of safety. Cisco valuation and downgrade analysis

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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.