Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Holdings Cut by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al trimmed its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 974,924 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 121,201 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for 0.6% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $104,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CSCO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,103,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,714,574,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total value of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 163,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,996,470.66. This trade represents a 0.41% 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 a total of 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Cisco Systems News

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 Price Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $104.51 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $70.54 and a one year high of $130.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $110.00 and a 200 day moving average of $101.01. 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 company has a market capitalization of $412.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.99.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. 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 currently 50.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.52.

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.