Clear Trail Advisors LLC Takes $799,000 Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 10,366 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $799,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $13,507,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,872 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,816,825,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,668,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081,469 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,318,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,641,483 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,917,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total transaction of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock worth $3,574,820. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco unveiled new AI‑agent security tools and expanded Zero Trust capabilities aimed at enabling safe deployment of agentic AI — a clear product catalyst that can drive incremental security revenue and ease a major barrier to enterprise AI adoption. Cisco Reimagines Security for the Agentic Workforce
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlights Cisco’s new security services for controlling AI agents — reinforcing investor perception that Cisco is positioned to monetize AI security needs. Cisco launches security services to protect the world from AI agents and each other
• Positive Sentiment: RSA Conference AI/security news helped lift the cybersecurity group, producing a sectorwide rally that supported CSCO shares as investors rotated into security names. Cybersecurity Stocks Rally Amid AI News At RSA Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage pieces note Cisco is attracting attention for valuation and longer‑term momentum, framing CSCO as near or below some estimates of fair value — useful context but not an immediate earnings catalyst. A Look At Cisco (CSCO) Valuation As Shares Trade Below Estimated Fair Value
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets flagged investor interest and reiterated that Cisco is pushing a new security portfolio to reignite growth — the strategy improves visibility but notes recent revenue softness and competitive pressures. Cisco Bets on New Portfolio to Reignite Security Growth: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data shows effectively zero days to cover — likely a data artifact rather than a real short squeeze signal; treat as informational, not a driver.
• Negative Sentiment: An executive sale (~$250k) was reported, which can be read negatively by some investors even though the size is modest relative to the company’s market cap. Insider Selling: Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) EVP Sells $249,745.68 in Stock

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock opened at $78.81 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.96. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.11 and a 12-month high of $88.18. The firm has a market cap of $311.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 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 (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during 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 company’s quarterly 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 currently 57.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore raised Cisco Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, January 26th. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.