Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stake Increased by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in Cisco by 21.5% to 182,305 shares, valued at about $14.04 million, while institutional investors own roughly 73.33% of CSCO.
• Recent positive catalysts include Truist initiating coverage with a Buy and $94 target and Cisco being named a founding partner in Anthropic’s Project Glasswing, supporting its cybersecurity/AI infrastructure growth; analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $89.76.
• Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68, ~2.0% yield), even as insiders sold 46,431 shares totaling about $3.57 million in the past 90 days and now own roughly 0.01% of the company.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,305 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,276 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $14,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,203 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 12,349 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its position in Cisco Systems by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 24,622 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yoder Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Cisco Systems by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,945 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a Buy and $94 price target, citing strength in Cisco’s networking business and secular cybersecurity tailwinds — a direct analyst endorsement that can lift investor sentiment. Cisco Systems (CSCO) See Vast Potential in Securing AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is named as a founding partner in Anthropic’s Project Glasswing (access to Mythos model) — this positions Cisco to help secure AI agents and participate in shared tooling to find/patch vulnerabilities, reinforcing its cybersecurity revenue story. Anthropic Lets Apple, Amazon Test More Powerful Mythos AI Model
• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: cyber stocks are rallying on Anthropic’s Project Glasswing news and broader re-rating of security names — positive spillover for Cisco’s security and networking franchises. Cybersecurity Stocks Climb Amid Anthropic's Project Glasswing Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate governance/strategy boost: Cisco added Pete Shimer (former Deloitte COO/CFO) to its board as it leans into AI infrastructure — a credibility and oversight signal that investors often view favorably. Cisco Adds Pete Shimer To Board As AI Infrastructure Story Builds
• Positive Sentiment: Technical setup: CSCO recently cleared its 50-day moving average, indicating a short-term bullish trend that can attract momentum traders. Cisco Systems (CSCO) Recently Broke Out Above the 50-Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco released its State of Industrial AI report highlighting adoption and network/security readiness needs — supports product positioning but is more long‑term/PR than immediate revenue impact. Cisco Research: Industrial AI Moves into Physical Operations, Readiness Gaps Determine Scale
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate social/skills initiative: Cisco and Quest Alliance announced vocational training work in India — positive for brand and long-term talent pipeline but unlikely to move near-term earnings. Cisco and Quest Alliance Are Modernizing Vocational Training for India's Next-Gen Workforce
• Negative Sentiment: Security concern: a Salesforce-managed CRM breach reportedly exposed Cisco data (linked to the ShinyHunters group), raising short-term questions about data protection and potential PR/regulatory scrutiny for enterprise vendors. This is a reputational risk that investors will watch. Salesforce Security Breach Tests Conviction In AI Agent Growth Story

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.76.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,167,785.78. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 3.7%

CSCO opened at $83.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $330.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.67 and a twelve month high of $88.18. The company's 50-day moving average price is $79.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.96.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.