Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. Takes $973,000 Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management purchased 12,534 Cisco shares worth approximately $973,000 during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 73.33% of Cisco’s stock.
• Cisco’s AI infrastructure strategy—including partnerships with NVIDIA and Supermicro, strong hyperscaler demand, and its Secure AI Factory—remains a major growth catalyst, though competition from lower-cost open-source alternatives poses a risk.
• Cisco exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.22 in adjusted EPS and $17.25 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $129.43. Insiders have sold more than $6 million in shares over the past three months.

Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,534 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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 Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. This trade represents a 3.02% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,611 shares of company stock worth $6,066,680. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. HSBC lowered 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 report on Friday, August 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO stock opened at $112.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $442.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $115.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.13 and a 1-year high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The company had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems Company 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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