Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stake Reduced by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC lowered its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 886,905 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 19,877 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises about 3.3% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $95,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 7.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,278,492,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 2.7% during the second 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 position in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,714,574,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $650,093.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. This trade represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. This represents 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. Insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO stock 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 company has a market capitalization of $412.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.01.

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

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.