Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their neutral rating on shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $112.00 price objective on the network equipment provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $125.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CSCO. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Freedom Capital raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.64.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 6.2%

CSCO stock traded down $6.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,551,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,473,690. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $72.80 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The stock has a market cap of $377.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.21.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $18.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.12 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 22.34% and a return on equity of 33.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Cisco Systems has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.340-1.360 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 5.470-5.530 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $34,376.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 127,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,065,688.98. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $74,922.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 163,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,996,470.66. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,824 shares of company stock valued at $759,392. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at $6,442,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $60,009,000. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,372 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,926,000 after buying an additional 28,792 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,114,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 363,506 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,287,000 after buying an additional 71,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Latest Cisco Systems News

These are some of the CSCO news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Management characterized the sequential decline in its second-quarter revenue outlook as seasonal rather than a sign of weakening demand, and emphasized the company’s profitability. Cisco CEO comments on guidance and profitability
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts lowered price targets after the results, but kept positive or neutral ratings. Citigroup cut its target to $120 and Wells Fargo to $130, both retaining Buy or Overweight; other firms also trimmed targets. The revisions reflect caution about near-term execution, even as analysts see potential upside. Benzinga: Analyst cuts Cisco price target
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also focused on a 2.5-percentage-point decline in non-GAAP gross margin. A richer mix of AI networking hardware and higher memory costs are weighing on margins, tempering the earnings and guidance beats. Cisco shares and AI networking margin pressure

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.