Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 2.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Cisco shares fell 2.7% to about $112.44 after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from “Buy” to “Hold.” Despite the decline, analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $123.14.
• Cisco reported quarterly results above expectations, with $1.06 in adjusted EPS and $15.84 billion in revenue, up 12% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $4.27–$4.29.
• Insiders sold 47,650 shares worth approximately $5.7 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own a substantial 73.33% of the company. Cisco also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding about 1.5% annually.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $112.35 and last traded at $112.4380. Approximately 22,656,924 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 23,698,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.58.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. New Street Research raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC raised shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 172,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,920,694.24. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 198,549 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $13,905,000 after purchasing an additional 26,455 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 101.8% in the fourth quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,306 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $8,266,000 after purchasing an additional 54,141 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 200,341 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $15,432,000 after purchasing an additional 64,144 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,311,098 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $332,084,000 after buying an additional 275,456 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,873,274 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $375,388,000 after buying an additional 151,395 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $443.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $117.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.26.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio is 54.55%.

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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