Banco Santander S.A. Grows Stock Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 400,352 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,109 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $27,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 0.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.2% during the second 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 purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,816,825,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake 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 worth $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.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and AI-driven networking momentum — Cisco beat Q2 estimates (revenue up ~9.7% y/y) and analysts highlight accelerating networking sales tied to AI and campus upgrades, supporting revenue and gross‑profit leverage. Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Super Micro Computers
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and workforce initiatives expand go‑to‑market — Cisco launched regional AI/security initiatives and is expanding training and hiring pathways (e.g., Networking Academy partnership with Indeed in India), which should help adoption of its software/subscription stack over time. Cisco Networking Academy and Indeed Launch Global Partnership, Debut Dedicated Career Hub for India
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Cisco recently raised the quarterly dividend, reinforcing cash‑flow strength and making the stock more attractive to income investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Analysts and commentators are debating whether multi‑year share gains leave CSCO fairly priced, creating mixed signals for new buyers. Is Cisco Systems (CSCO) Fairly Priced After Strong Multi‑Year Share Price Gains?
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile comparisons — Market commentary (including Michael Burry’s remarks comparing Nvidia to Cisco) adds broad market noise about tech leadership cycles but does not directly change Cisco’s order book today. ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry warns Nvidia mirrors Cisco
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst views — Several firms have raised targets (Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America) while others remain cautious; consensus remains a moderate buy with upside to ~?$89 on average.
• Negative Sentiment: Security disclosure — Cisco disclosed that a critical bug in a widely used product has been actively exploited since 2023; the U.S. and allies urged remediation. This raises near‑term remediation costs, potential contract/renewal risk with large customers and reputational headwinds. Cisco says hackers have been exploiting a critical bug to break into big customer networks since 2023
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — A senior VP disclosed a sale of ~2,179 shares, which can create short‑term perception pressure even if not large vs. institutional ownership. SEC Filing – Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Margin concerns and downgrade — At least one analyst lowered their rating to Hold over gross‑margin worries, which could limit multiple expansion if margins don’t stabilize. Erste Group Downgrades Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) to Hold on Margin Concerns

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total value of $1,039,789.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,753,521.90. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total transaction of $169,395.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 28,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,239,456.18. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,677 shares of company stock worth $5,811,211. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $78.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $308.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.11 and a 52 week high of $88.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.65.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 57.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Melius Research raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

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.