Gradient Investments LLC Boosts Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 2,018.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,308 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 178,466 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $14,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 194,695,250 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,507,956,000 after buying an additional 1,067,872 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,816,825,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,668,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081,469 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,318,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631,703 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Cisco Systems by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,641,483 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,917,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804,625 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $134,410.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,076,329.51. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSCO has been the topic of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, January 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $78.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.11 and a 1 year high of $88.18.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco unveiled new AI‑agent security tools and expanded Zero Trust capabilities aimed at enabling safe deployment of agentic AI — a clear product catalyst that can drive incremental security revenue and ease a major barrier to enterprise AI adoption. Cisco Reimagines Security for the Agentic Workforce
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlights Cisco’s new security services for controlling AI agents — reinforcing investor perception that Cisco is positioned to monetize AI security needs. Cisco launches security services to protect the world from AI agents and each other
• Positive Sentiment: RSA Conference AI/security news helped lift the cybersecurity group, producing a sectorwide rally that supported CSCO shares as investors rotated into security names. Cybersecurity Stocks Rally Amid AI News At RSA Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage pieces note Cisco is attracting attention for valuation and longer‑term momentum, framing CSCO as near or below some estimates of fair value — useful context but not an immediate earnings catalyst. A Look At Cisco (CSCO) Valuation As Shares Trade Below Estimated Fair Value
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets flagged investor interest and reiterated that Cisco is pushing a new security portfolio to reignite growth — the strategy improves visibility but notes recent revenue softness and competitive pressures. Cisco Bets on New Portfolio to Reignite Security Growth: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data shows effectively zero days to cover — likely a data artifact rather than a real short squeeze signal; treat as informational, not a driver.
• Negative Sentiment: An executive sale (~$250k) was reported, which can be read negatively by some investors even though the size is modest relative to the company’s market cap. Insider Selling: Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) EVP Sells $249,745.68 in Stock

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.