Artemis Investment Management LLP Grows Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 944.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,868,054 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,689,115 shares during the period. Cisco Systems accounts for 1.7% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $143,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 15,042 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,203 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 15,917 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 12,349 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $951,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,003,220. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.81.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $91.85 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.58 and a fifty-two week high of $92.92. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $81.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.93. The company has a market cap of $362.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The company had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results and AI/infra momentum — analysts note Cisco’s Q2 beat, raised outlook and AI-infrastructure product momentum as key drivers of the recent share rally and valuation re-rating. A Look At Cisco (CSCO) Valuation After Strong Q2 Results And AI Infrastructure Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: High odds of another earnings beat — a Zacks piece flags Cisco’s strong earnings-surprise history and the factors (revenue strength, margin leverage) that make another upside surprise likely, supporting near-term sentiment. Will Cisco (CSCO) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Policy tailwind for quantum networking — a new U.S. quantum policy bill advancing toward commercialization could accelerate funding and deployment for quantum-related networking tech, an area where Cisco is referenced as a key player. This is a medium-term catalyst for products beyond core routing/switching. National Quantum Policy Bill Advances: IBM, IonQ, Cisco in Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/market momentum — multiple market reports note Cisco hitting fresh peaks and outperforming the Nasdaq index recently, reflecting strong investor demand and positive flow into the name. Cisco Hits Fresh Peak Amid Nasdaq Composite Today Buzz
• Neutral Sentiment: CNBC mention on trader radar — Cisco was referenced on CNBC’s “Final Trades,” a short-term media mention that can attract attention but is not a fundamental catalyst by itself. Netflix, Cisco, Zoom and a health care stock on CNBC's 'Final Trades'
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer strength — Arista (a data-center networking peer) is gaining momentum ahead of its earnings, highlighting competitive dynamics in the data-center space; this is worth monitoring but hasn’t materially changed Cisco’s trajectory yet. This Nvidia Rival Gains Momentum Ahead Of Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing bullish write-ups — several bullish theses and valuation analyses (Substack/InsiderMonkey/Yahoo) are circulating, reinforcing investor interest but largely echoing the same drivers: AI demand, recurring revenue, and attractive cash returns. Is Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) A Good Stock To Buy Now?

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.

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