Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.2857.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CSCO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are highlighting Cisco’s exposure to strong AI networking demand heading into results, which could support revenue growth and sentiment if management confirms healthy order trends. Buy Cisco Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings? Here’s What to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple industry pieces point to a favorable networking sector backdrop, with Cisco cited as a beneficiary of tailwinds despite macro headwinds and margin pressure. 3 Stocks to Consider From a Flourishing Networking Industry
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Cisco to $96, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s long-term fundamentals, even though that target remains below the recent trading level. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco is set to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday, making the stock sensitive to any surprise in guidance, margins, or AI-related order commentary. Cisco Systems (CSCO) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market news is mixed, with investors waiting on inflation data and geopolitics, which could influence near-term trading in Cisco along with the rest of the market. Week Ahead: Inflation test, an AI IPO and US-China talks put Wall Street on edge
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure from Arista Networks, Dell, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise remains a key concern ahead of earnings and could cap upside if Cisco’s growth outlook disappoints. Buy Cisco Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings? Here’s What to Know

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 2,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total transaction of $169,395.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 28,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,239,456.18. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 19,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $1,485,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 671,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,003,220. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,574,820. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 7.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 118.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,289,000 after buying an additional 590,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $98.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $389.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.94. Cisco Systems has a 1-year low of $60.85 and a 1-year high of $98.83.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Cisco Systems’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

About Cisco Systems

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.