Orca Investment Management LLC Acquires New Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Orca Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,866 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 142.5% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure remains a key growth catalyst. Cisco is benefiting from rising hyperscaler demand for networking equipment, while AI workloads, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and broader connectivity needs support the networking industry’s expansion. Cisco Gains From AI Networking Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research projects the global virtualization-security market will grow from $1.7 billion in 2025 to $4.9 billion by 2032, creating potential demand for Cisco’s security, segmentation, and cloud-native offerings. Virtualization Security Market Report
• Positive Sentiment: Mobile virtualization is projected to reach $21 billion by 2032, with remote work, BYOD, 5G, and tighter data regulations supporting longer-term opportunities for Cisco’s networking and security businesses. Mobile Virtualization Market Report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a favorable view ahead of earnings, with a reported consensus price target of $128.52, implying continued confidence in Cisco’s outlook. Cisco Consensus Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is experimenting with an AI-assisted rewrite of approximately 98% of its code under a young engineering leader, potentially improving development speed and product productivity, although execution remains unproven. Cisco AI Code Rewrite
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s upcoming report is receiving positive analyst attention after the stock outperformed the broader market, but the preview also raises the bar for results and forward guidance. Cisco Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s AI-security and quantum-safe initiatives could strengthen its long-term product portfolio, though the articles provide limited evidence of near-term financial impact. Cisco AI Security and Quantum-Safe Push
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure is increasing: Dell is expanding its AI-security and cyber-resilience capabilities, potentially challenging Cisco in enterprise infrastructure and security markets. Dell Expands AI Security Capabilities
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness relative to the broader market suggests investors may be taking profits or demanding stronger earnings and guidance, particularly with CSCO trading at a relatively elevated earnings multiple.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $104.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.01. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.54 and a 52 week high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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. Equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,727,261.01. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,938.96. The trade was a 1.64% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CSCO. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

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.