Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Cut to Hold at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. DZ Bank upgraded Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citic Securities boosted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.55.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $79.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $312.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.41. Cisco Systems has a 12 month low of $52.11 and a 12 month high of $88.18.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 57.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $836,860.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 146,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $138,657.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 176,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,010,307.74. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 83,299 shares of company stock valued at $6,390,416 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 420,336 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,163,000 after buying an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,189,645 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $218,236,000 after acquiring an additional 205,043 shares in the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the third quarter worth $8,563,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 13,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported a quantum networking breakthrough (Qunnect entanglement swapping over metro fiber) and unveiled AI-powered networking/security updates and new Silicon One chips — news that supports a longer-term thesis for higher-margin infrastructure demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market momentum is being reinforced by strong AI infrastructure traction: reports cite >$2B in AI-related orders and a 17% six‑month share gain, suggesting meaningful revenue benefit from Cisco’s AI push. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Technically, CSCO recently crossed above its 50‑day moving average — a short‑term bullish signal that can attract momentum and systematic buyers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly favorable: consensus brokerage sentiment and rising estimates versus peers (Cisco highlighted as cheaper vs. Palo Alto Networks on certain metrics) are supporting buy-side interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate social and workforce partnerships (LISC, Per Scholas) underscore Cisco’s ESG footprint and local resilience work — positive PR but limited near‑term revenue impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and pullback analyses are mixed: some pieces recommend patience, noting that recent gains have pushed valuations above historical norms even as growth improves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data is unclear or immaterial in the public summaries — no clear near‑term pressure signaled.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded CSCO to Hold, which can weigh on momentum and curb fresh inflows from certain institutional buyers. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale (11,248 shares reported) may raise minor governance/near‑term sentiment questions for some investors. Article Title

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.