Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group slightly increased its Cisco stake in the first quarter, adding 21,389 shares and bringing its holding to 4.89 million shares valued at about $379.8 million.
• Several major institutions also hold large positions in Cisco, and overall institutional ownership stands at 73.33% of the company’s stock.
• Cisco reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.06 on revenue of $15.84 billion, and analysts have remained broadly bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $123.14.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,894,663 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 21,389 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Cisco Systems worth $379,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $30,730,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $15,060,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,962 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position 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 worth $5,802,382,000 after buying an additional 206,352 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $4,609,227,000 after buying an additional 6,224,062 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $4,473,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CSCO shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research raised Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total value of $772,603.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,790,030.13. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 246,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,937,315.36. This represents 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $119.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $115.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.47. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.75 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $470.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. 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. Research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are highlighting Cisco’s favorable fundamentals after its recent earnings beat, including stronger-than-expected revenue, EPS, and guidance, which supports the stock’s upward momentum. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies: Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Asana (ASAN)
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest remains high in Cisco’s AI infrastructure business, with commentary pointing to it as an underappreciated growth engine that could help drive future sales. The Overlooked Growth Engine Powering Cisco Systems Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s president said AI is likely to create more work than it eliminates, reinforcing the company’s view that AI will increase demand for networking and enterprise infrastructure rather than reduce it. Cisco president says 'the future will likely have more jobs' as AI could create more work than it eliminates
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish market note argued Cisco has been “red-hot” in 2026 thanks to strong demand for AI infrastructure solutions, suggesting the stock’s recent strength is tied to improving growth expectations. Bull of the Day: Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Neutral Sentiment: One report said Cisco underperformed competitors on Monday, which may reflect short-term relative weakness even amid a broader positive trend. Cisco Systems Inc. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on the UCaaS market’s long-term growth outlook is broadly favorable for networking and communications vendors, but it is more of an industry tailwind than a direct Cisco-specific catalyst. Global Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) Market Size to Reach USD 605.5 Billion by 2035
• Neutral Sentiment: A general article on AI and cybersecurity deal activity is not directly tied to Cisco’s operations, so it is unlikely to be a major stock driver by itself. The $6 Billion Cybersecurity Prize Tech Giants Are Circling

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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