Sapient Capital LLC Trims Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Key Points

• Sapient Capital cut its Cisco position by 47.2% in the second quarter, selling 10,841 shares and retaining 12,117 shares worth approximately $1.42 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.33% of CSCO.
• AI-driven networking demand and upcoming earnings are key catalysts. Cisco recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $123.14.
• Valuation and execution risks remain. Competition, higher memory costs, Splunk’s cloud transition and potentially elevated expectations for AI growth could pressure the stock if results or guidance disappoint; Cisco also pays a $0.42 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.4%.

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Free Report) by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,117 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 10,841 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 276.4% during 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 during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI and networking demand are the key upside drivers. Analysts expect Cisco’s results to reflect strong demand for AI-related networking infrastructure, building on the company’s recent revenue growth and earnings beat. Investors will focus on whether orders, backlog and guidance support further gains. Cisco Q4 Earnings Preview: What Investors Should Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising price targets. The favorable analyst activity ahead of earnings provides additional support for CSCO, which has been trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Cisco Systems Is In a Trading Range Ahead of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst. Cisco is among the week’s major reporting companies, making its results, forward guidance and AI-related commentary especially important for the stock. Options activity indicates investors expect CSCO to remain in a relatively defined trading range before the report. Option Volatility and Earnings Report for Aug. 10–14
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and valuation risks remain. Higher memory costs, Splunk’s cloud transition, intense competition and the possibility that AI growth is already priced into CSCO could pressure the shares if results or guidance disappoint. Should Buy, Sell or Hold Cisco Stock Before Q4 Earnings?

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $122.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $483.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.02. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.75 and a twelve month high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (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 net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. Cisco Systems's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CSCO. Argus upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.14.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems 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 directly owned 180,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,730,312.97. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,937,315.36. This trade represents a 2.82% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823 in the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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