Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $5.30 Million Stock Holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,774 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,356 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $5,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $30,730,602,000 after acquiring an additional 4,049,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,473,272,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,612,720 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,668,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081,469 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,318,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $2,917,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 188,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,937,315.36. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,324 shares of company stock valued at $5,559,834. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Cisco to $135 from $114 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing stronger demand for high-speed optical networking gear tied to AI infrastructure spending. BofA raises Cisco, Ciena targets as AI optics boom accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also lifted its price target on Cisco to $150 from $100 and kept a Buy rating after Cisco’s latest quarterly results, reinforcing optimism around earnings and guidance. Rosenblatt Raises its Price Target on Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to frame Cisco as a beneficiary of AI-driven networking and security spending, with multiple stories highlighting record results and strong momentum. AI Buildout Fuels Record Results for These Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco joined the EnterpriseClaw AI automation platform alongside NVIDIA, Okta, and OpenAI, reinforcing its security and AI relevance in enterprise workflows. Cisco Joins EnterpriseClaw To Link AI Automation With Security And Valuation Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces are highlighting Cisco as a “throwback” tech stock that still fits into the AI trade, but these articles are mostly market commentary rather than new fundamentals. Dell, Cisco: How ‘throwback’ tech stocks fit into the AI trade
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which is notable but does not necessarily point to changing fundamentals. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media reports continue to note that Cisco has outperformed the broader technology sector, but that view largely reflects recent price strength already in place. Cisco Systems Stock: Is CSCO Outperforming the Technology Sector?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CSCO. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $114.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.09.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO stock opened at $120.42 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.18. The company has a market capitalization of $474.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.10, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.92. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.30 and a 52-week high of $121.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

Cisco Systems 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.