Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.36.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 4.5%

CSCO stock opened at $106.44 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.97. The company has a market cap of $419.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.00. Cisco Systems has a 12-month low of $66.81 and a 12-month high of $130.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $723,495.11. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total value of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 602,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,226,273.40. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares in the last quarter. Premier Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $71,000. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $371,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 72.7% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 90,052 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $10,578,000 after purchasing an additional 37,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $159,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI and cybersecurity positioning remains a longer-term support. Its Splunk acquisition is expanding Cisco’s capabilities in network visibility, security and enterprise AI, including self-managed AI deployments behind corporate firewalls. The company’s latest quarterly results also showed strong fundamentals: revenue increased 17.6% year over year to $17.25 billion, while adjusted EPS of $1.22 exceeded analyst expectations. Cisco Moves Higher as Splunk Takes Agents Behind the Firewall
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the pullback, Cisco remains above its 200-day moving average and analysts tracked by Quiver Quantitative have a median price target of $130. However, institutional positioning was mixed in the latest quarter, with 1,812 investors adding shares and 2,053 reducing positions.
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its Cisco price target to $125 from $132 and assigned a neutral rating, citing concerns that growth across the networking industry may be peaking. The target cut reinforced worries that Cisco’s recent earnings momentum and AI-related enthusiasm may be difficult to sustain. Cisco stock sinks 5% after Piper Sandler cuts price target on growth concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity added to selling pressure. SEC filings showed executives selling shares under Rule 10b5-1 plans, while Quiver Quantitative reported 49 insider sales and no purchases over the past six months. Investors appear to be taking profits after Cisco’s strong post-earnings advance rather than reacting to a new earnings miss or guidance reduction. Cisco Systems Falls as Insider Selling and Profit-Taking Weigh on Shares
• Negative Sentiment: The decline pushed CSCO into bear-market territory from its 12-month high, intensifying technical and valuation concerns. With a price-to-earnings ratio near 32, investors may be demanding continued high growth to justify the stock’s premium valuation. Cisco Systems stock just slumped to a bear market

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that provides networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and other information technology solutions. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data center infrastructure, security platforms, unified communications tools and software designed to help organizations connect, manage and protect their digital environments.

Cisco serves businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, telecommunications providers and other organizations worldwide.