Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Acquired by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 374,359 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,355 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $40,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at about $6,442,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,009,000. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,372 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,926,000 after buying an additional 28,792 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,114,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 686,466 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $53,253,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CSCO. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. HSBC cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.52.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is emphasizing AI security and “quantum-safe” technology as enterprises build out AI infrastructure. The strategy could create additional demand for Cisco’s networking, cybersecurity and observability products. What Is Cisco Signaling With Its AI Security And Quantum Safe Push?
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel said AI-agent safety will be a major technology issue, highlighting security risks that could increase demand for Cisco’s security and infrastructure solutions. AI Agent Safety Will Be the Issue of Our Time
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco open-sourced Project Quarry, a tool designed to detect rogue AI agents. The initiative could strengthen Cisco’s credibility in securing enterprise AI deployments and support future software and security opportunities. Cisco Open Sources Project Quarry to Detect Rogue AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus price targets reportedly moved higher, while Cisco’s partner awards and channel activity point to continued customer and reseller engagement. Cisco Systems Consensus Price Target Rises
• Neutral Sentiment: NTT DATA’s global AI Factory expansion may broaden demand for secure networking and AI infrastructure, although the announcement does not identify a specific Cisco contract or near-term revenue contribution. NTT DATA Expands AI Factory Footprint
• Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were net sellers of Cisco, creating near-term technical pressure independent of the company’s operating outlook. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Cisco
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether Cisco’s strong multi-year advance and AI-related optimism are fully supported by future cash flow. A relatively elevated valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Can Cisco Stay Cheap as AI Cash Flow Builds?

Cisco Systems Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $110.29 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $70.54 and a one year high of $130.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.68. The stock has a market cap of $434.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total value of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,226,273.40. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total value of $34,376.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 127,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,065,688.98. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Cisco Systems

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.