Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 1,878,855 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 77.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 559,376 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,878,855 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $43,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the 1st quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CSCO. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. CICC Research raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total value of $772,603.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,223 shares in the company, valued at $20,790,030.13. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,761 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.61, for a total value of $316,438.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 180,877 shares in the company, valued at $20,730,312.97. This trade represents a 1.50% 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. Insiders sold a total of 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco announced a new partnership with Tech Mahindra to launch an AI-driven Security Service Edge offering for global enterprises, which could strengthen Cisco’s security portfolio and add to future enterprise demand. Tech Mahindra and Cisco Partner to Bring AI-Driven Security Service Edge to Global Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market coverage have highlighted Cisco after an upgrade, helping sentiment around the stock and suggesting investors see room for more upside ahead of earnings. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is also drawing attention ahead of its quarterly results, with preview coverage pointing to expected double-digit bottom-line growth, which can keep investors focused on earnings momentum. Cisco Systems’ Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Yahoo Finance articles referenced Cisco as a cautionary example from the dot-com era while discussing growth stocks, but these pieces were about other companies and did not provide new company-specific news for Cisco. 2 Growth Stocks with All-Star Potential and 1 We Find Risky
• Neutral Sentiment: More analyst commentary compared Cisco’s valuation to its recent partnership-driven momentum, suggesting the stock may already reflect some good news rather than signaling a clear new catalyst. Has Cisco Systems (CSCO) Run Ahead Of Fair Value Following Its Webex Contact Center Deal?
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco AI security research showed multi-turn attacks can defeat many models, reinforcing Cisco’s credibility in AI security, though the article was more industry-focused than a direct financial catalyst. Multi-turn attacks broke AI models 88% of the time — single-turn testing missed it, Cisco AI security lead warns at VB Transform 2026

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.75 and a 12-month high of $130.37. The stock has a market cap of $449.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 54.55%.

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.