Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Jumps 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $106.96 and last traded at $106.50. Approximately 13,282,069 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 22,056,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CSCO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $419.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.88.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion for 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%. Cisco Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total transaction of $2,412,387.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,226,273.40. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale 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, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 6.5% during the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 102,092 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $10,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,266 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 63,676 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,853,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 84,951 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $9,143,000 after purchasing an additional 8,255 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC now owns 11,007 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cisco Systems by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability solutions for businesses, government organizations and service providers. Its offerings include routers, switches, wireless networking equipment, data-center infrastructure, security software and services, as well as technologies that support cloud and hybrid IT environments.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex portfolio, cloud-managed networking through Cisco Meraki and security and observability capabilities that include technologies from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.