Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.1429.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CSCO shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. HSBC upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $137.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco announced a new partnership with Tech Mahindra to launch an AI-driven Security Service Edge offering for global enterprises, which could strengthen Cisco’s security portfolio and add to future enterprise demand. Tech Mahindra and Cisco Partner to Bring AI-Driven Security Service Edge to Global Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market coverage have highlighted Cisco after an upgrade, helping sentiment around the stock and suggesting investors see room for more upside ahead of earnings. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is also drawing attention ahead of its quarterly results, with preview coverage pointing to expected double-digit bottom-line growth, which can keep investors focused on earnings momentum. Cisco Systems’ Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Yahoo Finance articles referenced Cisco as a cautionary example from the dot-com era while discussing growth stocks, but these pieces were about other companies and did not provide new company-specific news for Cisco. 2 Growth Stocks with All-Star Potential and 1 We Find Risky
• Neutral Sentiment: More analyst commentary compared Cisco’s valuation to its recent partnership-driven momentum, suggesting the stock may already reflect some good news rather than signaling a clear new catalyst. Has Cisco Systems (CSCO) Run Ahead Of Fair Value Following Its Webex Contact Center Deal?
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco AI security research showed multi-turn attacks can defeat many models, reinforcing Cisco’s credibility in AI security, though the article was more industry-focused than a direct financial catalyst. Multi-turn attacks broke AI models 88% of the time — single-turn testing missed it, Cisco AI security lead warns at VB Transform 2026

Cisco Systems Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CSCO opened at $114.17 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $117.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. Cisco Systems has a 52-week low of $65.75 and a 52-week high of $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $449.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company 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. Equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at $28,937,315.36. This 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. Insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823 over the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised 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 acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Cisco Systems by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,289,000 after acquiring an additional 590,650 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is 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.