Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stock: Sepio Capital LP Trims Holdings

Sepio Capital LP lessened its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,937 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 15,590 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CSCO. Networth Advisors LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the 1st quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 142.5% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. KeyCorp raised 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.52.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco unveiled high-density AI networking products, including Silicon One G302 switches and a planned 400Gb/s-per-lane optical module developed with NVIDIA, TE Connectivity and Amphenol. Expanded SONiC support and AI-operations security tools strengthen the company’s effort to capture spending across networking hardware, silicon, optics and software. Did AI Networking Expansion Just Shift Cisco’s Investment Narrative?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bullish commentary argues that Cisco can benefit from continued AI data-center investment and from software that helps customers monitor AI usage and control rising model-inference costs. Cisco: Can It Profit From Helping Customers Spend Less on AI?
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF funds were net sellers of CSCO on October 20, adding a technical source of pressure that does not necessarily reflect a change in Cisco’s operating outlook. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Cisco
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to debate whether Cisco’s AI opportunity represents a durable shift from its traditional enterprise networking business. Comparisons with Arista Networks highlight the importance of execution, data-center design wins and margins. Arista Networks Versus Cisco Systems
• Negative Sentiment: The latest decline reflects Cisco falling more than the broader market, while commentary from Seeking Alpha characterized the stock’s AI narrative as overbought and maintained a Hold view. At a price-to-earnings ratio above 31, investors may be demanding substantial AI growth before awarding the shares a higher valuation. Here’s Why Cisco Systems Fell More Than the Broader Market

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO opened at $104.89 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.06 and a 52 week high of $130.37. 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 data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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, analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This trade 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 this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $34,376.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 127,661 shares in the company, valued at $14,065,688.98. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.