Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stake Cut by Howland Capital Management LLC

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,770 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,391 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Lights Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Lights Advisors Inc. now owns 3,640 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,113 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $16,064,000. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 27.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 13.1% during the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 12,527 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco unveiled high-density AI networking products, including Silicon One G302 switches and a planned 400Gb/s-per-lane optical module developed with NVIDIA, TE Connectivity and Amphenol. Expanded SONiC support and AI-operations security tools strengthen the company’s effort to capture spending across networking hardware, silicon, optics and software. Did AI Networking Expansion Just Shift Cisco’s Investment Narrative?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bullish commentary argues that Cisco can benefit from continued AI data-center investment and from software that helps customers monitor AI usage and control rising model-inference costs. Cisco: Can It Profit From Helping Customers Spend Less on AI?
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF funds were net sellers of CSCO on October 20, adding a technical source of pressure that does not necessarily reflect a change in Cisco’s operating outlook. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Cisco
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to debate whether Cisco’s AI opportunity represents a durable shift from its traditional enterprise networking business. Comparisons with Arista Networks highlight the importance of execution, data-center design wins and margins. Arista Networks Versus Cisco Systems
• Negative Sentiment: The latest decline reflects Cisco falling more than the broader market, while commentary from Seeking Alpha characterized the stock’s AI narrative as overbought and maintained a Hold view. At a price-to-earnings ratio above 31, investors may be demanding substantial AI growth before awarding the shares a higher valuation. Here’s Why Cisco Systems Fell More Than the Broader Market

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 worth $5,005,620 in the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO opened at $104.89 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.06 and a 52-week high of $130.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $413.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.88.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CSCO. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.