Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price dropped 1.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $117.10 and last traded at $118.33. Approximately 26,340,412 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 23,461,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.41.

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 $135 from $114 and kept a Buy rating, citing stronger demand for networking gear tied to AI infrastructure spending. BofA raises Cisco, Ciena targets as AI optics boom accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also boosted its Cisco target to $150 from $100 after the latest earnings report, reinforcing confidence in the company’s results and guidance. Rosenblatt Raises its Price Target on Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is being positioned as a beneficiary of the AI buildout, with articles highlighting record results and momentum in networking demand. AI Buildout Fuels Record Results for These Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Qumulo and Cisco launched a CloudBridge architecture aimed at extending file workloads into the cloud, adding another AI/cloud infrastructure use case for Cisco’s platform. Qumulo and Cisco Deliver Industry-First CloudBridge Architecture…
• Positive Sentiment: New coverage suggests Cisco’s security revenue growth could accelerate as it links security to the AI infrastructure cycle, Splunk observability, and AI-agent defenses. Cisco’s Security Revenue Growth Set to Pick Up: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several momentum-focused articles are highlighting Cisco as a strong stock pick, but these are mostly commentary pieces rather than new fundamental developments. Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Cisco Systems (CSCO) is a Great Choice
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan; the sale is worth noting, but it appears routine and not a major fundamental signal. SEC filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $91.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.09.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 0.9%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.92. 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 company has a market cap of $467.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $134,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,076,329.51. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $2,568,642.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 51,324 shares of company stock worth $5,559,834 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 6.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,189,645 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $218,236,000 after acquiring an additional 205,043 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 26,455 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 8.9% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 686,469 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $46,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56,057 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 213.8% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 20,497 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 13,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 40.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,490,482 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $238,818,000 after acquiring an additional 997,738 shares during the last quarter. 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 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.