Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 76,513 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group trimmed its Cisco position by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 76,513 shares but still holding 1.81 million shares valued at about $139 million.
• Cisco’s latest quarter showed solid earnings and revenue growth, with EPS of $1.06 beating estimates and revenue rising 12% year over year to $15.84 billion. The company also issued guidance above expectations for Q4 2026 and FY 2026.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $122.90, while recent news highlights demand tied to AI networking and partnerships like the one with AT&T.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,805,111 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 76,513 shares during the quarter. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 0.8% of Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $139,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 198,549 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $13,905,000 after purchasing an additional 26,455 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 101.8% in the 4th quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,306 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $8,266,000 after purchasing an additional 54,141 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 200,341 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $15,432,000 after purchasing an additional 64,144 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,311,098 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $332,084,000 after purchasing an additional 275,456 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,873,274 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $375,388,000 after purchasing an additional 151,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is benefiting from strong AI-networking demand, with recent commentary highlighting Q3 revenue growth, rising networking sales, and broad order momentum across segments. Cisco Systems Capitalizes on AI Networking Boom: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco announced a partnership with AT&T for an in-car entertainment platform, expanding its exposure to connected-car services and recurring billing capabilities. Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) Partners With AT&T. It’s About Cars
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco and Equinix, alongside NVIDIA, are expanding deployment of Cisco Secure AI Factory solutions across global data centers, reinforcing Cisco’s position in enterprise AI infrastructure. Equinix Collaborates with Cisco and NVIDIA to Deploy Secure AI Factories Across Global Data Center Footprint
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles continue to frame Cisco as a winner in AI buildout and private 5G, supporting the bullish narrative, but these are largely commentary pieces rather than new fundamental disclosures. Cisco (CSCO) Unveils Cloud Control Platform and Advances Private 5G Connectivity Solutions
• Neutral Sentiment: A coalition announcement with Cisco as a member of an open-source security initiative adds a reputational tailwind, but it is unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. Chainguard Launches Athena, the Industry Coalition to Fix Open Source Vulnerabilities Before Attackers Can Find Them
• Negative Sentiment: One recent Seeking Alpha note downgraded Cisco, arguing that much of the AI-driven upside may already be reflected in the valuation, which could temper further gains. Cisco Systems: Still Winning The AI Buildout, But Now Everyone’s Pricing It In (Rating Downgrade)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. New Street Research lifted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.90.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.5%

Cisco Systems stock opened at $119.57 on Wednesday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.02 and a 1-year high of $130.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.19.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Cisco Systems's revenue 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. On average, analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total transaction of $772,603.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,223 shares in the company, valued at $20,790,030.13. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.61, for a total transaction of $316,438.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 180,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,730,312.97. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,814,224 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

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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