Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Price Target Raised to $135.00

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

CSCO has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Argus increased their price objective on Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. New Street Research raised their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Cisco Systems Trading Down 1.6%

CSCO opened at $111.68 on Thursday. Cisco Systems has a twelve month low of $65.75 and a twelve month high of $130.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 4.09 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 paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 172,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,920,694.24. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 31,134 shares of company stock worth $3,739,000 over the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Cisco Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,730,602,000 after buying an additional 4,049,893 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 195,521,161 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $15,060,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,962 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 75,326,258 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,802,382,000 after purchasing an additional 206,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised 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 valued at $4,609,227,000 after purchasing an additional 6,224,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship

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.