Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,894,663 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,389 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $379,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the 1st quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.14.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $119.25 on Tuesday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.75 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $470.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.88 and a 200 day moving average of $92.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released 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. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The business had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total transaction of $772,603.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,790,030.13. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The sale 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, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction 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 $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823 in the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are highlighting Cisco’s favorable fundamentals after its recent earnings beat, including stronger-than-expected revenue, EPS, and guidance, which supports the stock’s upward momentum. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies: Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Asana (ASAN)
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest remains high in Cisco’s AI infrastructure business, with commentary pointing to it as an underappreciated growth engine that could help drive future sales. The Overlooked Growth Engine Powering Cisco Systems Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s president said AI is likely to create more work than it eliminates, reinforcing the company’s view that AI will increase demand for networking and enterprise infrastructure rather than reduce it. Cisco president says ‘the future will likely have more jobs’ as AI could create more work than it eliminates
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish market note argued Cisco has been “red-hot” in 2026 thanks to strong demand for AI infrastructure solutions, suggesting the stock’s recent strength is tied to improving growth expectations. Bull of the Day: Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Neutral Sentiment: One report said Cisco underperformed competitors on Monday, which may reflect short-term relative weakness even amid a broader positive trend. Cisco Systems Inc. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on the UCaaS market’s long-term growth outlook is broadly favorable for networking and communications vendors, but it is more of an industry tailwind than a direct Cisco-specific catalyst. Global Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) Market Size to Reach USD 605.5 Billion by 2035
• Neutral Sentiment: A general article on AI and cybersecurity deal activity is not directly tied to Cisco’s operations, so it is unlikely to be a major stock driver by itself. The $6 Billion Cybersecurity Prize Tech Giants Are Circling

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.