Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stock: Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Raises Position

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,493 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,289 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $10,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 142.5% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Blueline Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the 1st 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. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CSCO. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.52.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI networking demand remains a key growth driver. Rising hyperscaler spending and Cisco’s expanding networking portfolio could help it compete more effectively with Arista Networks and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Cisco Gains From AI Networking Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Security and AI-agent protection initiatives strengthen Cisco’s strategic positioning. The company is promoting AI security, quantum-safe capabilities and Project Quarry, an open-source tool designed to detect rogue AI agents—areas that could support demand as enterprises deploy more AI. Cisco Open Sources Project Quarry
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations remain favorable. Cisco has outperformed the broader market recently, and the reported consensus price target of $128.52 implies further upside from recent trading levels. Cisco Consensus Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. A preview noted a positive analyst outlook ahead of Cisco’s report. Investors may be waiting for updated guidance and evidence that AI-related orders are translating into sustained revenue and margin growth. Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Cisco’s Report
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation concerns may be limiting enthusiasm. Dell’s expanding AI-security capabilities and strong server backlog highlight intensifying competition for AI infrastructure spending, while Cisco’s elevated valuation leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if expectations are not exceeded. Dell Expands AI Security Capabilities
• Negative Sentiment: Recent selling added pressure. ETFs were reported as net sellers of CSCO, and the stock fell more than the broader market without a clearly identified negative company announcement, suggesting investors were reducing exposure or locking in gains ahead of earnings. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Cisco

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $108.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $428.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.54 and a 52-week high of $130.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 163,337 shares in the company, valued at $17,996,470.66. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability solutions for businesses, government organizations and service providers. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data-center infrastructure, security software and services, as well as technologies that support cloud and hybrid IT environments.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex portfolio, cloud-managed networking through Cisco Meraki and security and observability capabilities that include technologies from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.