Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 2,507,145 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. sharply increased its Cisco stake in Q4, buying 2.5 million additional shares and lifting its holdings to 2.63 million shares worth about $203 million.
• Cisco reported strong quarterly results with revenue of $15.84 billion and EPS of $1.06, both above analyst expectations, while also raising guidance for FY2026 and Q4.
• Investor sentiment remains upbeat as Cisco highlighted accelerating AI infrastructure orders and a “networking supercycle,” while analysts broadly maintained bullish ratings and higher price targets.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 1,961.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,634,961 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,507,145 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Cisco Systems worth $202,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $30,730,602,000 after buying an additional 4,049,893 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,668,182,000 after buying an additional 5,081,469 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,318,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,703 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,641,483 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,917,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,674,954 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,577,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535,716 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $134,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 156,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,076,329.51. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,587 shares of company stock valued at $1,230,765. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported record quarterly revenue of $15.84 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.06, both ahead of estimates, showing broad-based demand strength across networking and related products.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its FY2026 and Q4 guidance, signaling management confidence that demand remains strong and AI-related orders should continue to support growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco said hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders are accelerating, with commentary around a “networking supercycle” helping shift investor sentiment toward a longer growth runway. Article: Cisco CEO says tech is entering a 'networking supercycle' as stock pops 14% on strong AI demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages lifted price targets after the earnings beat, reinforcing optimism that the stock still has room to run.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced a restructuring plan and roughly 4,000 job cuts to redirect spending toward AI, which may improve efficiency but adds some execution risk as the business mix changes.
• Neutral Sentiment: There was notable insider selling activity in recent months, though the market today appears focused more on the earnings and AI growth story than on governance signals.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $115.53 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.30 and a 52-week high of $119.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $456.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.68.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.70% and a net margin of 20.14%.Cisco Systems's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is 54.55%.

Cisco Systems 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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