Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price Up 3.2% – What’s Next?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock price traded up 3.2% on Friday. The company traded as high as $112.23 and last traded at $112.20. 16,418,876 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 22,599,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.76.

More Cisco Systems News

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.52.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 3.2%

The company has a market cap of $442.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.04 and a 200-day moving average of $106.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $799,956.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 230,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,727,261.01. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.54, for a total value of $2,412,387.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 602,710 shares in the company, valued at $67,226,273.40. The trade was a 3.46% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSCO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $25,278,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in 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. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake 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 valued at $400,190,000 after purchasing an additional 51,363,281 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,320,905 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,876,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,679,422 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.