Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,572,769 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $184,737,000. Cisco Systems comprises 0.5% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,203 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. August Group Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. August Group Capital Ltd now owns 4,723 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Financial Insights Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, CPA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.
Cisco Systems News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a $135 price target and cited Cisco’s potential supply advantage through TSMC amid shortages affecting the AI infrastructure industry. The endorsement suggests analysts see room for further appreciation from current levels. Morgan Stanley keeps Cisco at $135 on TSMC supply edge
- Positive Sentiment: AI networking demand remains a key catalyst. Reports point to strong hyperscaler orders, networking growth, and Cisco’s expanding security portfolio as advantages over Hewlett Packard Enterprise for long-term investors. HPE vs. CSCO: Which Stock Has an Edge in the Networking Space?
- Positive Sentiment: Cisco is expanding its partnership with NVIDIA around AI infrastructure and liquid-cooling systems, positioning the company to benefit as data centers adopt higher-density AI computing. Its Secure AI Factory initiative also embeds cybersecurity into AI deployments, potentially supporting software and security growth. Nvidia’s AI Chips Are Making Liquid Cooling the New Standard as Cisco Expands Its AI Bet Cisco Expands Secure AI Factory
- Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s move into rack-scale compute through a Supermicro-related AI infrastructure partnership could increase its share of AI buildout spending beyond traditional networking hardware. Cisco just broke its biggest hardware rule to chase the AI boom
- Neutral Sentiment: Cisco gave all 90,000 employees access to personal AI agents, demonstrating internal AI adoption and potentially improving productivity, though the near-term financial impact is unclear. Cisco Gave All 90,000 Employees Their Own AI Agent
- Negative Sentiment: A customer success story describes Spicer Group replacing its Cisco-based networking stack with open-source VyOS across 13 sites. While only one customer example, it highlights the competitive risk from lower-cost, flexible alternatives. VyOS Powers Spicer Group’s Cisco-to-Open-Source Network Transformation
Cisco Systems Price Performance
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Cisco Systems Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. CICC Research raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.43.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Cisco Systems
Insider Activity
In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,226,273.40. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $723,495.11. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,638,447.48. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,611 shares of company stock worth $6,066,680. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.
Cisco Systems Company Profile
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.
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