Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain moderately bullish on Cisco: Twenty-six brokerages assign the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 16 buys, three strong buys and seven holds. The average 12-month price target is $128.52 versus a recent price of $112.20.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: Cisco reported quarterly EPS of $1.22 and revenue of $17.25 billion, surpassing analyst estimates, while revenue grew 17.6% year over year.
• Shareholder returns remain a focus: Cisco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 1.5% yield, while institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.52.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Cisco Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $112.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $66.81 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.44.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. 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, research analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given 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 is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeetendra Patel sold 7,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 230,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total transaction of $310,389.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,586,938.96. This trade represents a 1.64% 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. Insiders sold a total of 44,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,005,620 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $25,278,492,000 after buying an additional 13,512,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Cisco Systems by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $4,609,227,000 after buying an additional 6,224,062 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $400,190,000 after buying an additional 51,363,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% in the 4th 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. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from “hold” to “strong buy,” providing a notable near-term sentiment boost. Investors Heavily Search Cisco Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is scheduled to distribute approximately $1.66 billion in dividends on October 21. The payout reinforces the company’s shareholder-return appeal and may support demand for the stock. Cisco Dividend Payouts
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI infrastructure momentum remains a key catalyst: product orders increased 35% year over year in fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, while AI infrastructure orders reportedly exceeded Wall Street expectations. The company also announced a sovereign AI infrastructure partnership with Bell Canada, potentially expanding its networking, security and observability products in regulated markets. Bell Cisco Sovereign AI Pact
• Positive Sentiment: The industrial-control-system security market is projected to grow at a 16.5% annual rate through 2031, creating a favorable backdrop for Cisco’s cybersecurity business. Industrial Control System Security Market Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Bernstein initiated coverage with a “market perform” rating, suggesting balanced expectations despite Cisco’s AI opportunity. Bernstein Cisco Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $125, indicating reduced upside expectations. Management’s cautious fiscal 2027 AI revenue outlook and the fact that AI represented only about 6% of fiscal 2026 revenue also highlight execution and valuation risks. Piper Sandler Cisco Price Target

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco's portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.