Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 3.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares down 3.1% — Cisco traded as low as $75.20 and last around $76.21 on Monday, with volume up about 38% versus the average session.
• Earnings beat — Cisco reported $1.04 EPS vs. $1.02 expected and revenue of $15.35 billion vs. $15.11 billion, with revenue up 9.7% year‑over‑year.
• Analyst sentiment and dividend — Analysts have raised price targets and the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $89.55 average target, and Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68, ~2.2% yield; ex‑dividend April 2).

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $75.20 and last traded at $76.21. 32,790,268 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 23,736,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. HSBC boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $301.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The company had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Cisco Systems's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Cisco Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total value of $169,395.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 28,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,239,456.18. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 11,248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $854,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 262,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,970,976. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,677 shares of company stock worth $5,811,211. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 420,336 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $29,163,000 after buying an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,189,645 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $218,236,000 after acquiring an additional 205,043 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $8,563,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 686,469 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $46,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56,057 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 213.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 20,497 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 13,966 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Company 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.

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