Empowered Funds LLC Invests $72.17 Million in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 614,435 Cisco shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $72.17 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.33% of Cisco’s outstanding stock.
• Cisco reported quarterly revenue of $17.25 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 17.6% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $129.43.
• AI infrastructure demand remains a major growth catalyst through Cisco’s partnerships with NVIDIA and Supermicro, networking orders, and Secure AI Factory initiative. However, executives have continued selling shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, and the company faces competition from lower-cost open-source networking alternatives.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 614,435 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $72,172,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,203 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. August Group Capital Ltd grew its position in Cisco Systems by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. August Group Capital Ltd now owns 4,723 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Insights Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 6,220 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, CPA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.8% during the second quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a $135 price target and cited Cisco’s potential supply advantage through TSMC amid shortages affecting the AI infrastructure industry. The endorsement suggests analysts see room for further appreciation from current levels. Morgan Stanley keeps Cisco at $135 on TSMC supply edge
• Positive Sentiment: AI networking demand remains a key catalyst. Reports point to strong hyperscaler orders, networking growth, and Cisco’s expanding security portfolio as advantages over Hewlett Packard Enterprise for long-term investors. HPE vs. CSCO: Which Stock Has an Edge in the Networking Space?
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is expanding its partnership with NVIDIA around AI infrastructure and liquid-cooling systems, positioning the company to benefit as data centers adopt higher-density AI computing. Its Secure AI Factory initiative also embeds cybersecurity into AI deployments, potentially supporting software and security growth. Nvidia's AI Chips Are Making Liquid Cooling the New Standard as Cisco Expands Its AI Bet Cisco Expands Secure AI Factory
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s move into rack-scale compute through a Supermicro-related AI infrastructure partnership could increase its share of AI buildout spending beyond traditional networking hardware. Cisco just broke its biggest hardware rule to chase the AI boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco gave all 90,000 employees access to personal AI agents, demonstrating internal AI adoption and potentially improving productivity, though the near-term financial impact is unclear. Cisco Gave All 90,000 Employees Their Own AI Agent
• Negative Sentiment: A customer success story describes Spicer Group replacing its Cisco-based networking stack with open-source VyOS across 13 sites. While only one customer example, it highlights the competitive risk from lower-cost, flexible alternatives. VyOS Powers Spicer Group's Cisco-to-Open-Source Network Transformation

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total value of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at $67,226,273.40. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $650,093.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 53,611 shares of company stock valued at $6,066,680 over the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cisco Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC cut shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Citic Securities lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $112.15 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.13 and a 12-month high of $130.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $115.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.18. 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 cap of $442.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. On average, research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.44 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

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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