Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 884,706 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,407% compared to the average volume of 58,692 call options.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

CSCO stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,450,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,936,404. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Cisco Systems has a 12 month low of $52.11 and a 12 month high of $80.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.87.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.77 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.010-1.030 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CSCO. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. CICC Research raised their target price on Cisco Systems from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.70.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 164,584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total transaction of $12,812,864.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 196,738 shares in the company, valued at $15,316,053.30. The trade was a 45.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 281,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.35, for a total transaction of $22,083,731.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 820,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,316,496.45. The trade was a 25.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock worth $81,397,635. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 49.5% during 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 period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $542,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,845 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,804,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 117.9% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,820 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Cisco Systems by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 82,737 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,106,000 after acquiring an additional 13,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

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.