Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Down 1.8% on Insider Selling

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price dropped 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $109.39 and last traded at $110.06. 12,378,699 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 22,747,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.13.

Specifically, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total value of $74,922.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 163,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,996,470.66. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Thimaya Subaiya sold 312 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $34,376.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 127,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,065,688.98. This trade represents a 0.24% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.68.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco announced new Splunk advancements that allow customers to deploy, secure and monitor AI applications on-premises. The company also introduced Tokenomics for tracking AI spending and agent usage, potentially strengthening its position as enterprises seek measurable returns and greater control over sensitive data. Cisco Delivers Trusted AI at Scale Through New Splunk Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco and NVIDIA expanded their partnership to bring agentic AI, real-time cost tracking and automated security capabilities to Splunk customers. Reports highlighted Cisco’s $7.5 billion AI-revenue target and the possibility of an 87.5% increase in AI-related revenue, supporting the company’s growth narrative. Cisco Gains as Its $7.5 Billion AI Target Moves On-Premises
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco joined Verizon’s 6G Innovation Forum and is collaborating with Infleqtion on distributed quantum networking research. These initiatives offer longer-term opportunities in next-generation wireless and networking infrastructure, although they are not expected to materially affect near-term results. Cisco Takes a Formal Role in 6G and Quantum Networking
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco President Jeetu Patel said AI regulation and guardrails must advance at the same pace as the technology. The comments reinforce Cisco’s focus on trusted AI but do not change financial guidance. Cisco President Shares Thoughts on AI Debate
• Negative Sentiment: Executives Oliver Tuszik and Thimaya Subaiya sold small portions of their holdings under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Because the transactions reduced their positions by only 0.41% and 0.24%, respectively, they are a limited signal of insider sentiment. Oliver Tuszik Sells 680 Shares of Cisco Stock

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $436.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.93.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.43 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 issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 50.30%.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,129,647,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,609,227,000 after buying an additional 6,224,062 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during 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 buying an additional 51,363,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% during 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 buying an additional 7,679,422 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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.