Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Down 1.1% on Insider Selling

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares dropped 1.1% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $110.36 and last traded at $111.61. Approximately 20,033,311 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 23,733,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.90.

Specifically, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,226,273.40. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at $18,638,447.48. This represents a 3.74% 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. In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,276 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,938.96. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. New Street Research increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.43.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of about $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS of $1.22 exceeded the $1.17 consensus estimate. Management’s fiscal 2027 outlook and expectations for $7.5 billion in AI infrastructure revenue reinforce the company’s growth story. Cisco AI infrastructure and margin outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure orders reached $4 billion in the latest quarter and $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026. Investment commentary highlighted strong demand from data-center customers, supporting confidence in Cisco’s networking products and AI-related growth. Strong AI infrastructure orders
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded CSCO from “hold” to “strong buy.” Separately, some analysts argued that the post-earnings selloff was excessive, with Cisco’s AI opportunity and earnings growth potentially supporting the shares. Cisco selloff viewed as overreaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco benefited from higher hardware prices and a heavier product mix, partly offsetting rising memory costs. However, those costs and the hardware-heavy mix reduced product margins, creating uncertainty about how much of the AI-driven growth will translate into profit. Cisco hardware pricing and margins
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s quarterly dividend remains $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, providing a modest 1.5% yield and ongoing income support for shareholders.
• Negative Sentiment: Gross margin fell to 66.3% and management expects approximately 65%–66% in the next quarter. Investors appear concerned that memory inflation, pricing pressure and increased hardware sales could constrain margins even as revenue rises.
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded Cisco to “hold,” adding to caution around the stock’s valuation and the sustainability of its AI growth rate. With CSCO trading at roughly 33 times earnings, expectations are elevated. HSBC Cisco hold downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Charles Robbins and three other executives sold a combined 38,045 shares worth approximately $4.25 million. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, limiting their significance, but the cluster of sales is still a modest negative signal.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $439.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.02. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.48.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The business’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 research analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after acquiring an additional 24,562 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,289,000 after purchasing an additional 590,650 shares during the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cisco Systems

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.