Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management cut its Cisco position by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,032 shares and leaving it with 80,628 shares valued at about $6.21 million.
• Cisco continues to see heavy institutional ownership, while analysts remain broadly constructive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $90.29, though a few firms recently downgraded their views.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.06 and revenue of $15.84 billion, both topping estimates, and it raised guidance for fiscal 2026 and Q4 2026. Cisco also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable July 22.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,628 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 14,032 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $6,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $3,668,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081,469 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,631,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,804,625 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted 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 valued at $2,577,720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,535,716 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,485,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 671,095 shares in the company, valued at $51,003,220. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total transaction of $249,745.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $101.87 on Thursday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.85 and a 12-month high of $102.01. The company has a market capitalization of $402.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.92. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $83.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.36.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The company had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is 58.95%.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco beat Wall Street expectations, reporting non-GAAP EPS of $1.06 versus $1.04 expected and revenue of $15.8 billion versus $15.56 billion expected, signaling solid demand across the business. CISCO REPORTS THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its outlook for both fiscal 2026 and Q4 2026, with guidance coming in above analyst estimates, which is helping drive investor confidence in the stock. Earnings report and conference call
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI infrastructure demand is accelerating, supporting a “beat and raise” narrative and suggesting Cisco is benefiting from enterprise networking and data-center spending tied to AI buildouts. Cisco stock pops as Q3 earnings defy memory headwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced a restructuring that will eliminate about 4,000 jobs as it shifts resources toward AI growth, a move that may improve long-term focus but creates near-term execution and restructuring-cost questions. Cisco to Cut Jobs in Shift to Capture More AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Earlier reports showed Cisco entering earnings at all-time highs and potentially overbought, so some of the move may reflect momentum and investor enthusiasm already building ahead of results. Cisco stock at its most overbought since 2018

About Cisco Systems

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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