Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Acquired by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 226.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,739 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,060 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $3,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 393,989,568 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,334,996,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,714 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 194,695,250 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $13,507,956,000 after buying an additional 1,067,872 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,252,395 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $6,864,058,000 after buying an additional 1,157,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,816,825,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 48,531,251 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,367,098,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414,105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Networking revenue acceleration — Cisco’s fiscal Q2 networking sales rose ~21% to $8.29B, driven by AI-related and campus demand, signaling stronger order momentum and upside to future revenue and gross-profit leverage. Cisco’s Networking Revenue Growth Picks Up: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Zacks moved CSCO to a Strong Buy (Zacks Rank #1), reflecting growing optimism on Cisco’s earnings trajectory and likely supporting investor demand. All You Need to Know About Cisco (CSCO) Rating Upgrade to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: International AI/security partnerships — Cisco launched a Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA in Australia and opened an AI-first autonomous enterprise hub with TCS in India, expanding go-to-market for AI/security solutions in key regions. Sharon AI & Cisco Launch Australia’s First Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA TCS, Cisco launch hub for autonomous enterprise operations in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Security thought leadership — Cisco published Splunk’s CISO survey highlighting AI governance and security risk, reinforcing Cisco’s positioning in security but not an immediate revenue signal. Splunk Report: Agentic AI Takes Center Stage in CISOs’ Path to Digital Resilience
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive landscape note — Analyst piece compares Ciena and Cisco on AI-driven optical backlogs; highlights competition in network infrastructure but doesn’t change Cisco’s visible AI order stack. Ciena vs. Cisco: Which Networking Stock is a Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Quantum/comms ecosystem mention — IQM’s US listing story notes Cisco among investors in quantum tech, a long-term strategic exposure but not an immediate catalyst. IQM Quantum Computers to list shares in US at initial $1.8 billion valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares (~7% reduction of her position), a disclosed insider sale that can create short-term perception pressure on the stock. SEC Filing – Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade on margins — Erste Group cut CSCO to Hold citing declining gross-margin concerns, which could cap multiple expansion if margins don’t stabilize. Erste Group Downgrades Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) to Hold on Margin Concerns

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 11,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $854,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 262,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,970,976. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $836,860.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 146,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,677 shares of company stock valued at $5,811,211. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $78.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.11 and a 12-month high of $88.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.58. The company has a market capitalization of $308.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The business had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 57.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Citic Securities upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Company 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.