Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 31st, 2026

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CSCO. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. New Street Research lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.14.

View Our Latest Analysis on CSCO

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CSCO opened at $113.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $447.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Cisco Systems has a 12-month low of $65.75 and a 12-month high of $130.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.75 and its 200 day moving average is $95.81.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.44% and a net margin of 20.14%.Cisco Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th were 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 of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 54.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 172,727 shares in the company, valued at $20,920,694.24. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,473,272,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 51,363,281 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,289,151 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $2,256,144,000 after acquiring an additional 14,874,407 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,679,422 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,609,227,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

Positive Sentiment: AI-related networking orders have strengthened Cisco’s outlook, prompting a modest increase in estimates of the stock’s fair value. The demand suggests Cisco is gaining from data-center and artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending. Cisco Stock Fair Value Edges Higher After AI Networking Order Strength
Positive Sentiment: New alliances focused on AI and quantum-safe security could broaden Cisco’s investment story beyond traditional networking, supporting longer-term demand for its security and infrastructure products. Cisco AI and Quantum-Safe Security Alliances
Neutral Sentiment: Cisco pulled back after six consecutive sessions of gains, a move characterized as profit-taking rather than a clear deterioration in the company’s fundamentals. Cisco Slips After Six Straight Sessions of Gains
Neutral Sentiment: Palantir’s upcoming earnings are renewing debate about whether exceptionally high valuations can be justified by AI growth. Although the story concerns PLTR, the read-through may influence sentiment toward highly valued AI beneficiaries such as Cisco. Palantir’s Earnings Setup Puts Its AI Growth Story Back on Trial Again
Negative Sentiment: Analysts argue that much of Cisco’s AI upside may already be reflected in the share price ahead of its quarterly report, increasing the risk of disappointment even if results are solid. Cisco Q4 Preview
Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern: Cisco’s strong AI-related rally has raised questions about whether expected growth is sufficient to support the current multiple, potentially limiting further upside. Cisco Valuation Concerns
Negative Sentiment: Concerns that the AI capital-spending boom resembles the late-1990s technology bubble create a risk for Cisco because its networking growth is tied to continued data-center investment. A slowdown or spending reset could pressure orders and the stock’s valuation. AI Capital-Expenditure Boom Concerns

Cisco Systems Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.