Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

CSCO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.87.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $93.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $370.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.01. Cisco Systems has a 12-month low of $70.54 and a 12-month high of $130.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $108.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company 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%. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 230,593 shares in the company, valued at $25,727,261.01. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620 over the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 142.5% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blueline Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 308.7% during the first quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC now owns 425 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco was named a leader in ABI Research’s open line systems ranking for data-center interconnects, a market benefiting from AI-driven data-center expansion. Article: Ciena, Nokia, and Cisco Named Leaders in ABI Research’s Open Line Systems Ranking
• Positive Sentiment: New partner and cloud offerings—including AI-focused tools and expanded partner incentives—could support recurring software and services revenue. Separately, Spectrum Business introduced a managed Cisco secure-networking service aimed at AI-oriented enterprise workloads. Article: How Investors Are Reacting To Cisco Stock After Analyst Downgrade Article: Cisco Expands Into Managed Secure Networking
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s Q3 earnings are scheduled for November 12. Options traders are pricing in a potentially substantial move around the report, making results and guidance a near-term catalyst. Article: Cisco Set for Near 11% Move After Q3 Earnings, Say Options Traders
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut Cisco from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered its price target from $135 to $120. The firm warned that faster AI-infrastructure growth could worsen the sales mix and pressure gross margins, weighing on earnings growth in fiscal 2028. Article: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Cisco On AI Impacting Gross Margins
• Negative Sentiment: The downgrade coincided with broad selling in AI-infrastructure and networking stocks. Cisco’s shares also fell below their 200-day moving average, a technical signal that may add to investor caution. Article: Cisco Falls on Morgan Stanley Downgrade and AI Infrastructure Selloff Article: Cisco Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.