Advocate Group LLC Sells 20,850 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Advocate Group LLC sold 20,850 shares of Cisco, trimming its stake by 11.1% to 167,632 shares valued at about $12.9 million, making Cisco its 7th largest holding (2.1% of the fund).
• Cisco beat quarterly expectations with EPS $1.04 vs. $1.02 and revenue of $15.35 billion (up 9.7% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share (2.1% yield; ex-dividend Apr 2, paid Apr 22).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and a mean target near $89.76, after several firms (Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Citi) raised price targets.

Advocate Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,632 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 20,850 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises 2.1% of Advocate Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $12,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $79.02 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.11 and a 52-week high of $88.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The business had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CSCO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total transaction of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at $15,040,000.62. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco published a new "State of Wireless" report showing broad enterprise investment in Wi‑Fi and wireless as a revenue/efficiency multiplier tied to AI and IoT demand — a positive signal for Cisco’s wireless and infrastructure product demand. Cisco Report: Strategic Wireless Investments are Driving Higher ROI for Enterprises in the AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco will headline a COMPUTEX keynote (SVP Jeremy Foster) to present a "full‑stack approach to AI" — a visible positioning move that could help sales momentum and investor perception around Cisco’s AI infrastructure strategy. Cisco Makes Its Debut at COMPUTEX Keynote!
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting broker interest and upgrade momentum suggests some sell‑side optimism and index/market‑driven flows that can support the stock (analyst attention often boosts liquidity and sentiment). Brokers Suggest Investing in Cisco (CSCO): Read This Before Placing a Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Stories flagging that CSCO is a "trending" ticker and being watched by Zacks users — indicates retail/investor interest but not a direct fundamental catalyst. Is Trending Stock Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Private‑market deals in cloud communications (CallTower sale/ investment) highlight consolidation in collaboration/cloud services — tangential to Cisco’s UC and collaboration market but not an immediate CSCO earnings driver. CallTower Announces Strategic Investment from Court Square Capital Partners
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage reports Cisco’s gross margin contracted sequentially and Q3 commentary points to lower margins as AI revenue mix and higher memory costs weigh on profitability — a clear near‑term risk to EPS and multiple expansion. Cisco's Gross Margin Contracts Sequentially: Is Growth Getting Harder?

About Cisco Systems

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.

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