Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $128.52

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.52.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CSCO. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

CSCO opened at $104.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $412.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.99. Cisco Systems has a 1-year low of $70.54 and a 1-year high of $130.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 4.42 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure remains a key growth catalyst. Cisco is benefiting from rising hyperscaler demand for networking equipment, while AI workloads, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and broader connectivity needs support the networking industry’s expansion. Cisco Gains From AI Networking Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research projects the global virtualization-security market will grow from $1.7 billion in 2025 to $4.9 billion by 2032, creating potential demand for Cisco’s security, segmentation, and cloud-native offerings. Virtualization Security Market Report
• Positive Sentiment: Mobile virtualization is projected to reach $21 billion by 2032, with remote work, BYOD, 5G, and tighter data regulations supporting longer-term opportunities for Cisco’s networking and security businesses. Mobile Virtualization Market Report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a favorable view ahead of earnings, with a reported consensus price target of $128.52, implying continued confidence in Cisco’s outlook. Cisco Consensus Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco is experimenting with an AI-assisted rewrite of approximately 98% of its code under a young engineering leader, potentially improving development speed and product productivity, although execution remains unproven. Cisco AI Code Rewrite
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s upcoming report is receiving positive analyst attention after the stock outperformed the broader market, but the preview also raises the bar for results and forward guidance. Cisco Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s AI-security and quantum-safe initiatives could strengthen its long-term product portfolio, though the articles provide limited evidence of near-term financial impact. Cisco AI Security and Quantum-Safe Push
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure is increasing: Dell is expanding its AI-security and cyber-resilience capabilities, potentially challenging Cisco in enterprise infrastructure and security markets. Dell Expands AI Security Capabilities
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness relative to the broader market suggests investors may be taking profits or demanding stronger earnings and guidance, particularly with CSCO trading at a relatively elevated earnings multiple.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Cisco Systems in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 137.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 142.5% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

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.