SFE Investment Counsel Invests $6.29 Million in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 53,581 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,294,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank Hapoalim BM acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,432,000. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.5% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 19,229 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,885,000. Phillips Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, SWS Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CSCO shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO stock opened at $111.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.75 and a 1 year high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

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.