Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Up 1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) were up 1% on Thursday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $109.08 and last traded at $108.76. 12,611,487 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 22,604,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.63.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CSCO. UBS Group upped their target price on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.52.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Deborah Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $723,495.11. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at $18,638,447.48. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.18, for a total transaction of $74,922.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 163,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,996,470.66. This trade represents a 0.41% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,129,647,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at $5,892,379,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at $4,714,574,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $1,997,004,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 3.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $442.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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.