Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 13,244 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 64.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,743 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,244 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 0.9% of Empirical Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 24,562 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $6,289,000 after buying an additional 590,650 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported approximately $17.3 billion in quarterly revenue, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22, exceeding the $1.17 consensus estimate. Management’s fiscal 2027 outlook was also optimistic, reinforcing expectations for continued growth. Strong AI Infrastructure Orders Drive Confidence in Cisco Systems
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains a major growth driver. Cisco recorded $4 billion of AI infrastructure orders in the latest quarter, $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, and expects $7.5 billion of AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $150 price target, indicating substantial potential upside if execution continues. BofA makes bold call on Cisco stock after earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts questioned how sustainable the AI-led growth surge will be and whether Cisco can convert strong orders into durable, profitable recurring revenue. A recent Freedom Capital upgrade to Strong Buy provides a counterpoint to the more cautious views. What Kept Coming Up When Analysts Grilled CSCO
• Negative Sentiment: Gross-margin pressure was the key earnings concern. Margins fell to about 66.3% and are expected to remain around 65%–66% in the next quarter, partly because of higher memory costs, hardware pricing, and an unfavorable product mix. Soft recurring growth and a premium valuation have led some analysts to recommend holding the stock despite strong revenue growth. Cisco: Buy The AI Pullback, But Watch The Margin Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded Cisco to Hold, while CEO Charles Robbins and other executives disclosed share sales. The transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, making them a modest negative signal rather than clear evidence of deteriorating management confidence.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,938.96. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 69,179 shares of company stock worth $7,985,229. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CSCO. Freedom Capital upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, HSBC cut Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $110.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.02. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.13 and a 52-week high of $130.37. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.94.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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, research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems 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.