Groupe la Francaise Purchases 73,426 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise significantly increased its Cisco position by purchasing 73,426 additional shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 76,854 shares valued at approximately $9.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.33% of Cisco.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Cisco, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.68. Recent target increases included UBS to $138, Morgan Stanley to $135 and CICC Research to $125.
• Cisco exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus and revenue of $17.25 billion, up 17.6% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equal to a 1.5% annualized yield.

Groupe la Francaise grew its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 2,141.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,854 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 73,426 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $9,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CSCO. CICC Research increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $650,093.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,310,741.54. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,611 shares of company stock valued at $6,066,680. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO opened at $109.20 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $114.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.38. The firm has a market cap of $430.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.00. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.13 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The firm's revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

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.

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