Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Holdings Lessened by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Planning Partners reduced its Cisco stake by 9.6% in the third quarter, selling 13,166 shares and retaining 123,940 shares valued at about $13.34 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial: hedge funds and other institutions hold 73.33% of Cisco shares, with several investors adding to their positions during the quarter.
• Cisco faces mixed near-term signals: Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock over potential AI-related gross-margin pressure, while Cisco’s data-center and AI offerings provide growth opportunities. The article also flags the upcoming earnings report as a potential share-price catalyst.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. cut its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,940 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 13,166 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $13,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 99,641 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $10,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.6% during the third quarter. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC now owns 60,294 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $6,489,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.2% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 565,451 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $60,859,000 after buying an additional 17,754 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.4% during the third quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 88,857 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $9,583,000 after buying an additional 5,341 shares during the period. Finally, Ethos Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.6% during the third quarter. Ethos Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,389 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,948,000 after buying an additional 1,946 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco was named a leader in ABI Research’s open line systems ranking for data-center interconnects, a market benefiting from AI-driven data-center expansion. Article: Ciena, Nokia, and Cisco Named Leaders in ABI Research’s Open Line Systems Ranking
• Positive Sentiment: New partner and cloud offerings—including AI-focused tools and expanded partner incentives—could support recurring software and services revenue. Separately, Spectrum Business introduced a managed Cisco secure-networking service aimed at AI-oriented enterprise workloads. Article: How Investors Are Reacting To Cisco Stock After Analyst Downgrade Article: Cisco Expands Into Managed Secure Networking
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s Q3 earnings are scheduled for November 12. Options traders are pricing in a potentially substantial move around the report, making results and guidance a near-term catalyst. Article: Cisco Set for Near 11% Move After Q3 Earnings, Say Options Traders
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut Cisco from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered its price target from $135 to $120. The firm warned that faster AI-infrastructure growth could worsen the sales mix and pressure gross margins, weighing on earnings growth in fiscal 2028. Article: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Cisco On AI Impacting Gross Margins
• Negative Sentiment: The downgrade coincided with broad selling in AI-infrastructure and networking stocks. Cisco’s shares also fell below their 200-day moving average, a technical signal that may add to investor caution. Article: Cisco Falls on Morgan Stanley Downgrade and AI Infrastructure Selloff Article: Cisco Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 312 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $34,376.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 127,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,065,688.98. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total value of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 163,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,996,470.66. This represents a 0.41% 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 three months, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $93.85 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $108.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.63. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.54 and a 12 month high of $130.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.

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