Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR reduced its Cisco stake by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,674 shares and leaving it with 484,965 shares valued at about $37.5 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Cisco, with analysts maintaining a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.55, while several firms recently raised targets.
• Cisco’s latest results and outlook were strong: it beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised guidance, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,965 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 35,674 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $37,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $30,730,602,000 after buying an additional 4,049,893 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 worth $3,668,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081,469 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $3,318,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 worth $2,917,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,625 shares during the period. 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, New Street Research increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $118.21 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.30 and a 12-month high of $119.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

More Cisco Systems News

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

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total transaction of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total value of $169,395.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 28,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,239,456.18. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,587 shares of company stock valued at $1,230,765. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

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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