Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 72.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 39,840 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 104,405 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $113.77 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $65.75 and a one year high of $130.37. The company has a market cap of $448.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.01.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,937,315.36. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.61, for a total value of $316,438.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 180,877 shares in the company, valued at $20,730,312.97. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target on Cisco to $130 and reiterated an Overweight rating, suggesting upside from current levels. Cisco Systems price target raised by KeyCorp
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from brokerages, reinforcing a generally favorable long-term analyst view. Cisco Systems receives consensus rating of Moderate Buy from brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: A valuation update lifted Cisco’s fair value estimate modestly, with analysts pointing to stronger AI networking execution, campus refresh demand, and optical growth tied to Acacia. Cisco stock sees modest fair value lift after AI networking target raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco joined a Linux Foundation-led initiative, Akrites, aimed at strengthening critical open-source software against AI-enabled cyber threats, which may support its cybersecurity positioning but is not an immediate earnings driver. Linux Foundation and industry leaders launch Akrites
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings coverage highlighted Cisco’s latest quarterly results and broader IT-services tech trends, but did not add a major new catalyst by itself. Q1 earnings roundup: Cisco and the rest of the IT services & other tech segment
• Negative Sentiment: Cisco disclosed plans to lay off more than 400 workers in California, which can signal cost-cutting or restructuring pressure and may weigh on sentiment. Cisco to lay off more than 400 workers in California
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech weakness, including an AI and memory-stock selloff tied to an OpenAI IPO delay report, may also be dragging on Cisco shares. Nvidia, Micron, AMD lead chip selloff on OpenAI IPO delay report rattles tech

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Argus raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.14.

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.