Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stock: Vest Financial LLC Grows Holdings

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 56.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 539,571 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 195,153 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $58,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,103,654,000 after buying an additional 1,143,106 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,714,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Freedom Capital raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Zacks Research raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 230,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at $18,638,447.48. This represents a 3.74% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts argue that Cisco’s networking equipment, security products and software could benefit as enterprises and data centers continue expanding AI infrastructure. Cisco’s established customer base and cash generation may provide an advantage as spending broadens beyond chips to networking, power and cooling. Is Networking Demand Anchoring Cash-Rich Cisco Systems?
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s Splunk business highlighted growing demand for observability tools as AI agents create unpredictable workloads, telemetry expenses and software bills. Monitoring agent performance and controlling waste could support recurring software demand and strengthen Cisco’s AI-related growth narrative. Splunk State of Observability 2026
• Positive Sentiment: World Wide Technology earned Cisco’s Secure AI Infrastructure Specialization, providing evidence of partner adoption for Cisco’s security and AI infrastructure offerings. World Wide Technology Achieves Cisco Secure AI Infrastructure Specialization
• Positive Sentiment: Strategist Tom Lee cited Cisco’s 1990s rally as a precedent for buying an AI-related pullback, reinforcing the view that the current AI investment cycle could have several years to run. Strategist Tom Lee Says He’s Buying the AI Stock Dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary suggests Cisco could help customers reduce the unpredictable operating costs associated with AI agents, potentially creating demand for monitoring and optimization tools, although the opportunity remains dependent on enterprise adoption. Cisco Can Profit From Helping Customers Spend Less on AI?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Arista Networks may have a more focused, margin-rich position in modern AI data-center networking. Cisco’s broader, legacy enterprise exposure could pressure growth and margins if it loses key design wins. Arista Networks Versus Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $107.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $422.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.85 and a 12 month high of $130.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.45 and a 200-day moving average of $109.70.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

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.