R Squared Ltd Purchases Shares of 19,636 Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 19,636 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,000. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 0.6% of R Squared Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.8% in the third quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,945 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.5% in the third quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 9,940 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 48,456 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,315,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 24,534 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and AI-driven networking momentum — Cisco beat Q2 estimates (revenue up ~9.7% y/y) and analysts highlight accelerating networking sales tied to AI and campus upgrades, supporting revenue and gross‑profit leverage. Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Super Micro Computers
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and workforce initiatives expand go‑to‑market — Cisco launched regional AI/security initiatives and is expanding training and hiring pathways (e.g., Networking Academy partnership with Indeed in India), which should help adoption of its software/subscription stack over time. Cisco Networking Academy and Indeed Launch Global Partnership, Debut Dedicated Career Hub for India
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Cisco recently raised the quarterly dividend, reinforcing cash‑flow strength and making the stock more attractive to income investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Analysts and commentators are debating whether multi‑year share gains leave CSCO fairly priced, creating mixed signals for new buyers. Is Cisco Systems (CSCO) Fairly Priced After Strong Multi‑Year Share Price Gains?
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile comparisons — Market commentary (including Michael Burry’s remarks comparing Nvidia to Cisco) adds broad market noise about tech leadership cycles but does not directly change Cisco’s order book today. ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry warns Nvidia mirrors Cisco
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst views — Several firms have raised targets (Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America) while others remain cautious; consensus remains a moderate buy with upside to ~?$89 on average.
• Negative Sentiment: Security disclosure — Cisco disclosed that a critical bug in a widely used product has been actively exploited since 2023; the U.S. and allies urged remediation. This raises near‑term remediation costs, potential contract/renewal risk with large customers and reputational headwinds. Cisco says hackers have been exploiting a critical bug to break into big customer networks since 2023
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — A senior VP disclosed a sale of ~2,179 shares, which can create short‑term perception pressure even if not large vs. institutional ownership. SEC Filing – Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Margin concerns and downgrade — At least one analyst lowered their rating to Hold over gross‑margin worries, which could limit multiple expansion if margins don’t stabilize. Erste Group Downgrades Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) to Hold on Margin Concerns

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Melius Research boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 1.3%

CSCO opened at $78.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.65. The firm has a market cap of $308.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.11 and a twelve month high of $88.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 57.54%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $836,860.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 146,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $1,039,789.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,753,521.90. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 75,677 shares of company stock valued at $5,811,211 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

About Cisco Systems

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.