Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Purchased by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial increased its Cisco stake by 6.8% in Q4, adding 275,456 shares to hold 4,311,098 shares (about 0.11% of the company) valued at roughly $332.08 million.
• Q2 beat and AI/infra momentum — Cisco reported EPS of $1.04 vs. $1.02 and revenue of $15.35B vs. $15.11B, prompting analyst upgrades and a valuation re-rating that has supported the recent share rally.
• Insiders sold 46,431 shares (~$3.57M) over the last three months, including EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf's sale of 7,981 shares, while Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 ($1.68 annualized, ~1.8% yield).

Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,311,098 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 275,456 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.11% of Cisco Systems worth $332,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CSCO. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total transaction of $42,724.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,167,785.78. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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 Price Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $91.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.07. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.58 and a 12 month high of $92.92. The company has a market capitalization of $362.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Evercore raised shares of Cisco Systems from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.81.

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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