Hardy Reed LLC Makes New Investment in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Hardy Reed LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 8,286 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CSCO. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at $76,469,312.55. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $111.68 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.09. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.75 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.81 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 (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.43.

About Cisco Systems

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.