Prudential PLC Boosts Stock Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 583,394 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,861 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $39,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at $3,816,825,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 413.3% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 22,393,371 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,553,645,000 after purchasing an additional 18,030,441 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 46.2% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,836,858 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,833,261,000 after purchasing an additional 12,904,969 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 110.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,259,369,000 after purchasing an additional 9,648,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 6,778.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,810,012 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $472,479,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 16,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $1,248,072.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 157,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,149,807.04. This represents a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,003,220. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,799 shares of company stock worth $5,815,306. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Evercore raised shares of Cisco Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, January 26th. President Capital lowered their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $78.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.45. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.11 and a 52 week high of $88.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The company had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 57.54%.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Beat-and-raise quarter: Cisco reported record Q2 revenue and EPS, with hyperscale/cloud AI orders up ~61% to $2.1B and management raising annual AI order expectations — a clear near-term revenue catalyst and reason for investor optimism. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets: Multiple firms have raised ratings/targets (Evercore, Citi, Argus, etc.), which supports buying interest and helps lift the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product share gains: Dell’Oro reports Cisco edged out competitors for #1 indoor Wi‑Fi 7 revenue share in 2025 thanks to aggressive pricing — supports near-term hardware demand and competitive positioning. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend raise: Cisco bumped its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68), a modest positive for income buyers but not a major growth signal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation & pullback debate: Several pieces weigh whether the recent pullback makes CSCO reasonably priced — useful context for entries but mixed impact on immediate direction. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor outreach: Management’s conference presentations (e.g., Morgan Stanley) reiterate networking and AI strengths — improves visibility but is informational rather than catalytic. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure: Management warned of higher memory costs and a hardware-heavy mix that could compress gross margins despite revenue growth — a key risk to near-term EPS expansion. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Recent SEC filings show EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 1,744 shares and SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares last week; amounts are small vs. their holdings but can create short-term sentiment headwinds. Form 4 – Subaiya Form 4 – Wong

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.