Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Acquired by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management increased its Cisco stake by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 49,081 additional shares to bring its total to 512,168 shares worth about $39.45 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive, with analysts giving Cisco a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus price target of $114.55, while some firms recently raised or lowered their ratings and targets.
• Cisco reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.06 and revenue of $15.84 billion, and also issued upbeat guidance while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 512,168 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,081 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 2.8% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $39,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 248.9% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 485 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 418.0% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 518 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Evercore lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.55.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $118.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.95. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.30 and a fifty-two week high of $119.36. The firm has a market cap of $466.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,040,000.62. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,587 shares of company stock valued at $1,230,765. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue, with EPS of $1.06 topping estimates and sales of $15.84 billion above forecasts. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year guidance and pointed to roughly $9 billion in fiscal 2026 hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders, reinforcing the view that Cisco is becoming a key AI infrastructure beneficiary. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets after the earnings beat, including HSBC, Evercore, Piper Sandler, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, UBS, BNP Paribas, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, signaling broad Wall Street optimism. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s CEO said AI will force a “multi-billion dollar infrastructure reset,” which supports the bullish narrative that the company is at the center of a long upgrade cycle. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced plans to cut about 4,000 jobs as it reshapes spending toward AI, which may improve efficiency but adds some execution risk. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns that the stock’s rapid rally has pushed valuation higher, and options activity shows elevated volatility expectations heading into the next phase. Article title

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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