Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Reduces Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments cut its Cisco stake by 53.5% in the first quarter, selling 660,205 shares and leaving it with 574,087 shares worth about $44.5 million.
• Several analysts raised price targets on Cisco, with the stock now carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $122.90.
• Cisco posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also highlighted growth themes around AI infrastructure while announcing a $0.42 quarterly dividend due July 22.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 53.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 574,087 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 660,205 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $44,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,644 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 15,418 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 30.3% in the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 21,761 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.0% in the first quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,292 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CSCO. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citic Securities increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.90.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court ended a long-running lawsuit accusing Cisco of aiding China’s persecution of Falun Gong members, removing a legal overhang and reducing the risk of potential liability. US Supreme Court ends suit alleging Cisco helped China pursue Falun Gong
• Positive Sentiment: News flow is also highlighting Cisco’s push into AI infrastructure, including its Secure AI Factory efforts and quantum networking bets, which could strengthen its growth narrative with enterprise customers. How Cisco’s Secure AI Factory and Quantum Networking Bets Could Reshape the Cisco Systems (CSCO) Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is also being discussed as a beneficiary of broader AI networking demand, with reports noting its collaboration activity alongside Nvidia and Equinix as enterprises upgrade data center and security infrastructure. Nvidia's Network Ambitions Could Lift Telecom
• Neutral Sentiment: Several additional articles are keeping Cisco in focus, but they are mostly commentary pieces or general stock-interest items rather than new material business developments.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.61, for a total value of $316,438.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 180,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,730,312.97. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at $28,937,315.36. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $121.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.71. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $65.75 and a one year high of $130.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $477.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Cisco Systems's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

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

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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