Mariner Investment Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Mariner Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,372,000 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $105,685,000. Cisco Systems makes up 6.2% of Mariner Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $6,289,000 after acquiring an additional 590,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CSCO. Wall Street Zen lowered Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. New Street Research lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Citic Securities upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, HSBC raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total transaction of $772,603.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,790,030.13. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total value of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at $28,937,315.36. This trade represents a 2.82% 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is being highlighted by Zacks and other market coverage as a beneficiary of the AI infrastructure buildout, with demand for networking gear and enterprise AI adoption supporting the bullish case for the stock. Why Cisco Systems (CSCO) Outpaced the Stock Market Today
• Positive Sentiment: Rhino Networks’ comments on Cisco’s unified networking strategy for SMBs reinforced the idea that Cisco’s Meraki and traditional networking portfolios are converging into a stronger, more compelling platform for customers modernizing their networks. Todd Carriker, CEO of Rhino Networks, Addresses Cisco’s Unified Networking Strategy for SMB Market
• Positive Sentiment: Equinix expanded partnerships with Cisco and NVIDIA to accelerate enterprise AI adoption, which may signal growing ecosystem demand for Cisco’s networking and data-center products. Equinix Strengthens AI Infrastructure With Cisco & NVIDIA Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco was also included in bullish “blue-chip stocks to buy” coverage, adding to the constructive tone around the name and supporting investor interest. Dow Achieves a New Milestone: 4 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.9%

CSCO opened at $119.54 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.72 and a 1 year high of $130.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $471.16 billion, a PE ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

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.