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

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 22.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. 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 makes up about 1.0% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $202,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 8.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 200,190 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,697,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 9,068 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. President Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other news, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 16,150 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $1,248,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 157,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,149,807.04. This trade represents a 9.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson sold 13,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 75,677 shares of company stock worth $5,811,211 over the last quarter. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.7%

CSCO stock opened at $79.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.75. The company has a market capitalization of $313.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.11 and a twelve month high of $88.18.

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. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is an increase 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 currently 57.54%.

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.