Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Cisco Systems has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 25 brokerages, with 15 buy ratings, 2 strong buy ratings, and 8 hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $123.14.
• Recent analyst actions have been upbeat, including higher price targets from Citic Securities, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America, along with an upgraded rating from Weiss Ratings. Several notes also pointed to Cisco’s growing role in AI infrastructure and data center spending.
• Cisco reported strong quarterly results, beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, and it also raised guidance for Q4 2026 and FY 2026. The company additionally announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable July 22, for a 1.4% annualized yield.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.1429.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CSCO shares. Citic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial started coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target on Cisco to $130 from $125 and reiterated an Overweight rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: New coverage highlighted Cisco’s growing role in AI infrastructure, including Acacia/800G optics orders and broader demand tied to AI data center spending, which supports the long-term growth story. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Rafay Systems said it expanded its Elevate AI infrastructure ecosystem with growing relationships including Cisco, reinforcing Cisco’s visibility in the AI and cloud-native infrastructure market. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted Cisco has outperformed some competitors despite a weaker trading session, suggesting relative resilience rather than a major new catalyst. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market-wrap and valuation pieces described Cisco as a hold or a value stock after its strong run, which may be tempering near-term enthusiasm even as fundamentals remain solid. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Shares were recently weaker than the broader market in the latest session, reflecting some profit-taking after the stock’s sharp rally. Article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.31, for a total value of $772,603.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,790,030.13. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 246,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,937,315.36. This trade represents a 2.82% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock valued at $5,668,823. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 276.4% in the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the first quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $118.97 on Friday. Cisco Systems has a one year low of $65.75 and a one year high of $130.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $109.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.01.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. Cisco Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. 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 predict that Cisco Systems will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems's payout ratio is 54.55%.

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.

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