Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.2857.

Several research analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Trending Headlines about Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco beat Wall Street expectations, reporting non-GAAP EPS of $1.06 versus $1.04 expected and revenue of $15.8 billion versus $15.56 billion expected, signaling solid demand across the business. CISCO REPORTS THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its outlook for both fiscal 2026 and Q4 2026, with guidance coming in above analyst estimates, which is helping drive investor confidence in the stock. Earnings report and conference call
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI infrastructure demand is accelerating, supporting a “beat and raise” narrative and suggesting Cisco is benefiting from enterprise networking and data-center spending tied to AI buildouts. Cisco stock pops as Q3 earnings defy memory headwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced a restructuring that will eliminate about 4,000 jobs as it shifts resources toward AI growth, a move that may improve long-term focus but creates near-term execution and restructuring-cost questions. Cisco to Cut Jobs in Shift to Capture More AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Earlier reports showed Cisco entering earnings at all-time highs and potentially overbought, so some of the move may reflect momentum and investor enthusiasm already building ahead of results. Cisco stock at its most overbought since 2018

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares in the company, valued at $51,003,220. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,874,211.50. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820 over the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 398,943,293 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $30,730,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,893 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 195,521,161 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $15,060,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,962 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 75,326,258 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,802,382,000 after purchasing an additional 206,352 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Cisco Systems by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,836,782 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,609,227,000 after purchasing an additional 6,224,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,473,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $101.87 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. Cisco Systems has a one year low of $60.85 and a one year high of $102.01. The firm has a market cap of $402.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

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.