Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $44.33 Million Stock Position in Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 647,947 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,000 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $44,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in Cisco Systems by 531.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 96.2% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 115.7% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q2 revenue, EPS beats on the headline metrics and Cisco raised its FY26 outlook — evidence of strong demand (particularly from AI hyperscalers). This supports longer‑term revenue growth expectations. CISCO REPORTS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
• Positive Sentiment: New Silicon One G300 AI switching silicon positions Cisco to compete for large AI‑data‑center spend (big TAM). That product news underpins the company’s AI infrastructure narrative and potential market share gains vs. competitors. Silicon One G300 Announcement Drives Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a 2% quarterly dividend increase to $0.42 — a shareholder‑friendly move that signals management confidence and supports income investors. CISCO REPORTS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and price targets remain broadly positive with several upgrades and above‑consensus targets — this supports upside but may already be priced into the stock. Quiver Quant Q2 Earnings Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: some outlets question whether recent multi‑year gains have priced in the AI upside, so investor patience may be required for further upside. Is Cisco Fairly Priced?
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term guidance was essentially in line with expectations rather than a clear beat; investors punished the stock after the quarter even though results were strong — market focus shifted to guidance cadence. CNBC: Stock Drops on Mediocre Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Gross margin came in below some estimates and management noted higher memory/component costs are pressuring margins; that near‑term margin risk is a key reason traders sold shares. MSN: Higher Memory Costs Pressure Margins
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow softened year‑over‑year and capex rose; combined with notable insider selling reported by third parties, these items add execution and governance noise for short‑term traders. Quiver Quant: Financials & Insider Activity

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. President Capital dropped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.45.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $85.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.11 and a 52 week high of $88.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.99. The company has a market cap of $337.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.29%. The business had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 281,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.35, for a total value of $22,083,731.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 820,887 shares in the company, valued at $64,316,496.45. This trade represents a 25.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 16,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 157,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,149,807.04. This trade represents a 9.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock worth $81,397,635 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

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.