Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stock Holdings Lifted by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 34.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 500,530 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,648 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $54,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $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 shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake 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 purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,714,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is expanding its AI-security tools: AI Defense will use Anthropic’s Claude Mythos for adversarial testing of AI applications and agents, alongside new Splunk Agent Observability and Cisco IQ capabilities. The launch could strengthen Cisco’s position as businesses seek ways to secure and monitor AI agents. Cisco AI security announcement
• Positive Sentiment: One analysis suggests Cisco shares could be undervalued by about 15%, offering a potential valuation argument for investors. Cisco valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: The November 12 earnings report is the main near-term catalyst. Investors will look for evidence that AI infrastructure demand supports Cisco’s growth and its stated $7.5 billion AI target; options trading points to expectations of a potentially large post-earnings move. Cisco earnings and options outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Risk appetite remains a headwind: reports cite a roughly 20% decline in CSCO and a $145 billion loss in market value from its peak, while ETFs were net sellers of $64.1 million in shares on November 5. ETF flows for Cisco
• Negative Sentiment: A Morgan Stanley analyst reportedly moved Cisco to Equal-weight, adding to caution ahead of results. Investors may also be wary if earnings fail to reassure the market about AI-related demand. Cisco earnings expectations and AI concerns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CSCO. HSBC downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $650,093.04. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,938.96. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 5.1%

Cisco Systems stock opened at $98.65 on Tuesday. 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 $388.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.01. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.10 and a fifty-two week high of $130.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.75.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.