Ancora Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors cut its Cisco stake by 8.8% in the second quarter, selling 10,082 shares and retaining 103,962 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million. Hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 73.33% of Cisco.
• Cisco reported quarterly EPS of $1.22 and revenue of $17.25 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 17.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 1.5% yield.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $129.68 price target. Cisco’s AI networking projects, including planned Saudi Arabian deployments, support its growth outlook, though a China-linked cyberespionage campaign targeting its routers presents a security and reputational risk.

Ancora Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 8.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,962 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 10,082 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $12,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CSCO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $6,289,000 after purchasing an additional 590,650 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Cisco Systems with a “Buy” rating and a $135 price target, implying substantial upside from the referenced share price. The endorsement supports the bullish case for Cisco’s networking and AI growth prospects. Tuesday Wall Street analyst research calls
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco, AMD and HUMAIN said AI infrastructure using AMD Instinct MI355X systems and Cisco Silicon One networking is now live in Saudi Arabia. The partners plan additional deployments of up to 250 megawatts beginning in 2027, with a broader ambition of as much as 1 gigawatt by 2030. The projects provide potential long-term demand for Cisco’s AI networking products. AMD, Cisco and HUMAIN expand Saudi Arabia AI infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary also highlighted an earlier-than-expected enterprise technology refresh as a potential “second engine” for growth, complementing Cisco’s AI networking opportunity. Cisco’s second growth engine
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco will meet investors at several September technology and financial conferences. These events could provide updates on enterprise demand, AI networking, margins and guidance, but no new financial outlook was announced. Cisco September investor events
• Negative Sentiment: Cisco disclosed that the China-linked “Fire Ant” group has targeted Cisco IOS XR routers and obtained persistent access to high-value network infrastructure. The espionage campaign raises concerns about customer network security, potential remediation costs and reputational damage to Cisco’s core routing business. Fire Ant router espionage and Cisco investors

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $109.74 on Wednesday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.13 and a 52-week high of $130.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.76 and a 200-day moving average of $101.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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, analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CSCO. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. CICC Research lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $14,310,741.54. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 that occurred 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 directly owned 602,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,226,273.40. This trade represents a 3.46% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 53,611 shares of company stock valued at $6,066,680. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

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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