Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council cut its Cisco stake by 41.9% in the first quarter, selling 72,209 shares and retaining 100,291 shares worth approximately $7.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.33% of Cisco.
• Cisco exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.06 in adjusted EPS and $15.84 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 12% year over year. The company also issued fiscal 2026 guidance of $4.27–$4.29 EPS.
• AI-related networking demand and new security alliances are supporting Cisco’s outlook, but valuation concerns and the risk that AI optimism is already priced in could limit further upside. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $123.14.

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 41.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,291 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 72,209 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $7,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $30,730,602,000 after buying an additional 4,049,893 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 195,521,161 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $15,060,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,962 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 75,326,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $5,802,382,000 after acquiring an additional 206,352 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,609,227,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224,062 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $4,473,272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $113.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.75 and a fifty-two week high of $130.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $117.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.81. The stock has a market cap of $447.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-related networking orders have strengthened Cisco’s outlook, prompting a modest increase in estimates of the stock’s fair value. The demand suggests Cisco is gaining from data-center and artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending. Cisco Stock Fair Value Edges Higher After AI Networking Order Strength
• Positive Sentiment: New alliances focused on AI and quantum-safe security could broaden Cisco’s investment story beyond traditional networking, supporting longer-term demand for its security and infrastructure products. Cisco AI and Quantum-Safe Security Alliances
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco pulled back after six consecutive sessions of gains, a move characterized as profit-taking rather than a clear deterioration in the company’s fundamentals. Cisco Slips After Six Straight Sessions of Gains
• Neutral Sentiment: Palantir’s upcoming earnings are renewing debate about whether exceptionally high valuations can be justified by AI growth. Although the story concerns PLTR, the read-through may influence sentiment toward highly valued AI beneficiaries such as Cisco. Palantir’s Earnings Setup Puts Its AI Growth Story Back on Trial Again
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts argue that much of Cisco’s AI upside may already be reflected in the share price ahead of its quarterly report, increasing the risk of disappointment even if results are solid. Cisco Q4 Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern: Cisco’s strong AI-related rally has raised questions about whether expected growth is sufficient to support the current multiple, potentially limiting further upside. Cisco Valuation Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns that the AI capital-spending boom resembles the late-1990s technology bubble create a risk for Cisco because its networking growth is tied to continued data-center investment. A slowdown or spending reset could pressure orders and the stock’s valuation. AI Capital-Expenditure Boom Concerns

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CSCO. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. HSBC upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. New Street Research increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at $28,937,315.36. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,890,162.87. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823. 0.01% of the stock is owned by 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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