Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 9,589 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,106 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,589 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $66,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,103,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $4,714,574,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CSCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.87.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $98.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $388.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.01. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $71.10 and a one year high of $130.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $108.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 230,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $650,093.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 128,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,310,741.54. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is expanding its AI-security tools: AI Defense will use Anthropic’s Claude Mythos for adversarial testing of AI applications and agents, alongside new Splunk Agent Observability and Cisco IQ capabilities. The launch could strengthen Cisco’s position as businesses seek ways to secure and monitor AI agents. Cisco AI security announcement
• Positive Sentiment: One analysis suggests Cisco shares could be undervalued by about 15%, offering a potential valuation argument for investors. Cisco valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: The November 12 earnings report is the main near-term catalyst. Investors will look for evidence that AI infrastructure demand supports Cisco’s growth and its stated $7.5 billion AI target; options trading points to expectations of a potentially large post-earnings move. Cisco earnings and options outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Risk appetite remains a headwind: reports cite a roughly 20% decline in CSCO and a $145 billion loss in market value from its peak, while ETFs were net sellers of $64.1 million in shares on November 5. ETF flows for Cisco
• Negative Sentiment: A Morgan Stanley analyst reportedly moved Cisco to Equal-weight, adding to caution ahead of results. Investors may also be wary if earnings fail to reassure the market about AI-related demand. Cisco earnings expectations and AI concerns

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.