Cornerstone Capital Inc. Takes Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Cornerstone Capital acquired 289,529 Cisco shares worth approximately $34 million during the second quarter, making Cisco its eighth-largest holding and representing about 3% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 73.33% of Cisco.
• Cisco reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter results, with revenue up 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.22, beating expectations. Management projects roughly 15% revenue growth in fiscal 2027, driven by accelerating AI infrastructure demand.
• Despite the upbeat outlook, investors remain concerned about elevated valuation and margin pressure from lower-margin AI hardware sales; the stock recently traded at $111.68, while analysts’ consensus price target was $129.43.

Cornerstone Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 289,529 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $34,008,000. Cisco Systems accounts for approximately 3.0% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 buying an additional 1,057,962 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 75,326,258 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $5,802,382,000 after buying an additional 206,352 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $4,609,227,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224,062 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,473,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 172,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,920,694.24. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,162.87. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $111.68 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $117.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.09. The stock has a market cap of $440.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.93. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $65.75 and a one year high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems's revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is 54.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. CICC Research upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Cisco Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.43.

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.

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.

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