Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading Up 5.1% – Still a Buy?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s share price rose 5.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $121.90 and last traded at $121.74. 24,894,104 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 23,643,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CSCO. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $96.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $479.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,937,315.36. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,162.87. The trade was a 4.82% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,650 shares of company stock worth $5,668,823. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Networth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 276.4% during the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Cisco Systems in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 137.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

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.