New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,857,423 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 352,216 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $332,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CSCO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,816,825,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 413.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 22,393,371 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,553,645,000 after purchasing an additional 18,030,441 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,836,858 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,833,261,000 after purchasing an additional 12,904,969 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 6,778.2% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,810,012 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $472,479,000 after buying an additional 6,711,004 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 393,989,568 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,334,996,000 after buying an additional 5,039,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $78.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.11 and a 52-week high of $80.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.77 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%.The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 61.65%.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades pushed optimism — Evercore ISI raised CSCO to “Outperform” and Zacks upgraded the stock to “Strong-Buy,” prompting buy-side attention and short-term buying. Evercore ISI Upgrade Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to the upgrades: coverage noted CSCO trading up following analyst action, reinforcing the short-term lift from broker sentiment. Trading Up After Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Local deals and product relevance stories (e.g., Georgetown’s Wi‑Fi 7 overhaul using Cisco gear) highlight demand for Cisco networking in campus/AI-edge projects — supportive for long-term revenue but not an immediate catalyst. Georgetown Wi‑Fi 7 Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Contributor piece and analyst roundup coverage (Wall Street calls, “moderate buy” consensus articles) are adding attention but contain mixed views — useful context but not decisive by itself. Analyst Calls Roundup Analyst Consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data looks anomalous (entries show 0 shares and NaN changes); this appears to be a data error and is unlikely to be a real market-moving factor today.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Chuck Robbins warned of potential “AI carnage” where winners and losers emerge as AI spending evolves — comments add caution about future demand concentration and execution risk. Robbins AI Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets (e.g., a Forbes analysis) argue CSCO could face downside and even suggest selling — such bearish takes can pressure sentiment among retail and momentum traders. Forbes Sell Thesis

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Citic Securities increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, President Capital cut their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.81.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,745 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $138,657.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 176,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,010,307.74. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $836,860.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 146,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock valued at $81,397,635. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.