Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stake Decreased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd cut its Cisco stake by 46% in the third quarter, selling 32,522 shares and retaining 38,178 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.33% of Cisco’s outstanding stock.
• Cisco reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion and EPS of $1.22, beating estimates. The company issued fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $5.05–$5.11.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $128.52. Cisco also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 1.5% yield.

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 46.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,178 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 32,522 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $4,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,609,227,000 after purchasing an additional 6,224,062 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,892,379,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported 17.6% year-over-year sales growth for the quarter ended July 2026, its fastest quarterly growth in roughly a decade. The result reinforces the potential benefit from AI infrastructure spending, networking upgrades and cybersecurity demand. How Rare Is Cisco's Record Sales Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: An investment article identified Cisco as a potential value opportunity in an expensive broader market, which may support interest from investors seeking established businesses with durable cash flows and shareholder returns. Cisco Stock And 2 Value Plays For An Overvalued Market
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco was highlighted among companies that reward long-term investors through reliable dividends, supporting the stock’s appeal to income-oriented shareholders. Procter & Gamble Has Raised Its Dividend for 70 Years
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco confirmed a multimillion-dollar donation to the planned White House ballroom. The contribution does not change operating fundamentals but could attract political or reputational scrutiny. Nvidia and Cisco confirm multimillion-dollar donations
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal-2026 net income rose 30% to $13.3 billion, but operating cash flow remained near $14.2 billion. Unrealized investment gains boosted earnings without producing operating cash, leaving investors focused on whether AI and cybersecurity growth can translate into sustained cash generation. Cisco Earnings Recovery and Cash Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage attributed Cisco’s underperformance to valuation concerns and profit-taking. GuruFocus also characterized the shares as still overvalued, which may be limiting upside after the stock’s strong run toward its 52-week high. Cisco Shares Fall; GF Value Says Still Overvalued

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CSCO. Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Freedom Capital raised Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,938.96. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $109.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $433.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.88. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.57 and a twelve month high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco's portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.

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