Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) dropped 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $117.10 and last traded at $120.36. Approximately 22,454,900 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 23,774,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.15.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Cisco to $150 from $135 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in additional upside for the stock. Benzinga report on Cisco price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: New industry data from Dell’Oro Group shows campus switch shipments grew double digits and prices rose due to component shortages, which could support Cisco’s networking hardware demand and pricing power. Dell’Oro campus switch shipment article
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco was highlighted in a market roundup of stocks with strong 2026 potential amid AI-driven momentum, reinforcing the bull case that the company can benefit from enterprise infrastructure spending. Yahoo Finance stock roundup article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles frame Cisco as a stock to hold or question whether growth can keep pace with its valuation, suggesting the recent rally may face resistance if investors want more proof of sustained AI and security growth. 247WallSt Cisco hold article
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece argues Cisco’s stock is overvalued, which could be weighing on sentiment despite acknowledging its valuation is more justified than during the dot-com era. Seeking Alpha overvalued article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $91.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. CICC Research lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.18.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $474.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.89 and a 200 day moving average of $85.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $134,410.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 156,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,076,329.51. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total transaction of $772,603.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,790,030.13. This trade represents a 3.58% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,324 shares of company stock worth $5,559,834. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $400,190,000 after acquiring an additional 51,363,281 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,289,151 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,256,144,000 after acquiring an additional 14,874,407 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 110.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,406,442 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,259,369,000 after acquiring an additional 9,648,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,320,905 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,876,219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,679,422 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.