Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Shares Acquired by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 22.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,952,995 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 541,668 shares during the period. Cisco Systems comprises approximately 1.0% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.07% of Cisco Systems worth $202,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 32,639 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after buying an additional 2,484 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 200,190 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $13,697,000 after purchasing an additional 6,385 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,489 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 9,068 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 36,455 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $1,485,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 671,095 shares in the company, valued at $51,003,220. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $1,039,789.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,630 shares in the company, valued at $4,753,521.90. This represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 75,677 shares of company stock worth $5,811,211 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus raised Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $79.46 on Monday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.11 and a 1 year high of $88.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.75. The firm has a market cap of $313.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. 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. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 57.54%.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s President and Chief Product Officer highlighted that Cisco already has a product written entirely with AI and said the company expects multiple AI-only products by end of 2026 — a clear positive for growth expectations and revenue-facing AI narrative. Cisco President Says AI Agents Need To Get The Background Checks Done — Yet Predicts 6 Products ‘Written With AI Only’ By The End Of 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco appears in recent dividend-stock roundups, reinforcing appeal to income-focused investors given Cisco’s yield and long-term cash generation. That can support demand from dividend investors. Got $10,000? Put It in These Dividend Stocks Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco will participate in multiple March investor events — increased access to management can reduce uncertainty and provide fresh guidance, but impact depends on messaging. Cisco to Participate in March 2026 Events with the Financial Community
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/blog attention is elevated (Zacks notes CSCO as a trending stock) and valuation pieces are circulating; this drives trading interest but not a clear directional catalyst on its own. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage questioning whether Cisco is fairly priced after multi‑year gains may increase volatility as investors reassess valuation vs. growth prospects. Is Cisco Systems (CSCO) Fairly Priced After Strong Multi‑Year Share Price Gains?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the feed is anomalous (shows zero), so it’s not providing a reliable signal to the market today.
• Negative Sentiment: Cisco disclosed that a critical bug in a widely used networking product has been exploited by hackers since 2023; government action and remediation costs or reputation damage could pressure the stock. Cisco says hackers have been exploiting a critical bug to break into big customer networks since 2023
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile commentary comparing past Cisco market dynamics to current sector froth (Michael Burry pieces linking Cisco’s dot‑com era dynamics to today’s AI winners) can stoke caution among momentum traders and raise reputation/valuation concerns by association. ‘This is Not Business as Usual. This is Risk’: Michael Burry Warns Nvidia Looks Strikingly Similar to Cisco Just Prior to Dot Com Bubble Crash

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.