Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stake Lessened by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 25.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,060 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,489 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $2,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 15.4% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 19,588 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Hoertkorn Richard Charles grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hoertkorn Richard Charles now owns 61,370 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,199,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. LVZ Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 10,284 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 73,301 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 281,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.35, for a total value of $22,083,731.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 820,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,316,496.45. This represents a 25.56% 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. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 164,584 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total transaction of $12,812,864.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 196,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,316,053.30. The trade was a 45.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,044,865 shares of company stock worth $81,397,635 in the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CSCO. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.23.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.1%

CSCO stock opened at $75.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $297.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.53. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.11 and a fifty-two week high of $80.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.77 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.29%. Cisco Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.010-1.030 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 61.65%.

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.