Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Cisco by 50.1% in Q4, selling 440,745 shares and leaving 439,060 shares valued at about $33.82 million.
• Cisco beat quarterly estimates with $1.04 EPS vs. $1.02 expected and $15.35 billion revenue (up 9.7% YoY), with analysts noting AI‑networking strength that supported a rise in guidance commentary.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 ($1.68 annual, ~2.0% yield), and analysts maintain a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target near $89.76.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 50.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 439,060 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 440,745 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $33,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CSCO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 110.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,259,369,000 after acquiring an additional 9,648,265 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,748,414 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,309,066,000 after acquiring an additional 5,498,375 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $3,668,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081,469 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $233,956,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,674,954 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,577,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $82.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.48. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $88.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $325.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 26th. President Capital reduced their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.76.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and others highlight an AI networking surge driving material top‑line momentum; Zacks says AI‑driven networking contributed to substantial revenue growth and helps justify further upside as infrastructure and wireless demand shift in Cisco’s favor. Cisco's AI Networking Surge Gathers Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analysis on Seeking Alpha notes AI infrastructure orders (including hyperscaler demand) and disciplined OPEX helped Cisco raise full‑year EPS guidance after the quarter, supporting the investment case despite margin pressure from memory costs. Cisco Remains A Buy As AI Tailwinds Broaden
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco is reportedly in talks to buy Israeli cybersecurity startup Astrix for roughly $250–$350M to bolster AI‑agent security monitoring — a strategic tuck‑in that strengthens Cisco’s security stack but is not a material spend relative to its balance sheet. M&A News: Cisco in Talks to Acquire Astrix
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation pieces note a strong 1‑year share run (up ~47% over 1 year) and ask whether current levels are fair; these analyses are weighing momentum versus stretched gains. Is Cisco Systems Fairly Priced?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Cisco from "strong‑buy" to "hold," removing some buy‑side conviction and likely prompting short‑term selling pressure. Zacks Downgrades Cisco
• Negative Sentiment: Bear case from Seeking Alpha flags the $28B Splunk deal for materially increasing debt, compressing free cash flow versus pre‑Splunk levels, and limiting dividend upside — a structural FCF concern investors are reacting to. AI Top-Line Boom Can't Hide Free Cash Flow Problem

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $134,410.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,076,329.51. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total transaction of $42,724.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,167,785.78. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over 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.

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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