Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Falls 1.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Cisco shares fell 1.2% to $113.64 in mid-day trading, while trading volume was 26% below its average.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $128.52, above its current price.
• Cisco reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.22 in EPS and $17.25 billion in revenue, up 17.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding about 1.5%.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $113.25 and last traded at $113.64. Approximately 16,545,339 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 22,320,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 163,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,996,470.66. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 230,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Networth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 43.7% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 398 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco's portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.

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