American Financial & Tax Strategies Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• American Financial & Tax Strategies Inc. acquired 15,381 Cisco shares worth approximately $1.8 million, making Cisco its 20th-largest holding and 0.8% of its portfolio. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.33% of the stock.
• Cisco reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion and EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. Robust AI-infrastructure orders and projected fiscal 2027 EPS of $5.05–$5.11 are supporting the company’s growth outlook.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $129.43, but concerns remain over valuation, margin pressure from higher costs and hardware mix, and recent insider selling under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

American Financial & Tax Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,381 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,807,000. Cisco Systems makes up 0.8% of American Financial & Tax Strategies Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 602,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,226,273.40. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,179 shares of company stock valued at $7,985,229. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CSCO. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Freedom Capital raised Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. HSBC downgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, New Street Research lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of about $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $1.22, exceeding the $1.17 consensus estimate. Management also forecast fiscal 2027 EPS of $5.05–$5.11 and expects $7.5 billion in AI-infrastructure revenue, reinforcing the company’s growth outlook. Cisco AI infrastructure and margin article
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI-infrastructure orders—$4 billion in the latest quarter and $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026—are increasing investor confidence that Cisco is benefiting from data-center networking demand. Reports identifying Cisco among Fabrinet’s AI-related customers provide additional support for the broader AI supply-chain opportunity. Strong AI infrastructure orders article
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded Cisco from “hold” to “strong buy.” Other analysts, including Wells Fargo, have raised price targets, and the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-driven selloff has prompted some commentators to call the decline an overreaction, while others recommend diversified ETFs as a lower-risk way to gain exposure to Cisco’s AI growth. This reflects optimism about the business but caution about owning the individual stock. Cisco selloff analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Gross margin fell to 66.3% and is expected at roughly 65%–66% in the next quarter. Higher memory costs, pricing changes and a heavier hardware mix are supporting revenue but pressuring profitability, raising questions about how sustainable the AI boom will be. Cisco margin pressure article
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC cut Cisco to “hold,” adding to valuation concerns after the post-earnings decline. CEO Charles Robbins and three other insiders also sold a combined 38,045 shares, although the transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and the executives retained substantial positions.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 1.1%

Cisco Systems stock opened at $111.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.13 and a 1-year high of $130.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.71. The company has a market cap of $439.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CSCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source