Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Trading 2.6% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) were up 2.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $122.55 and last traded at $121.83. Approximately 23,925,587 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 23,740,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CSCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cisco Systems from $76.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Cisco Systems Stock Up 2.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $480.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.94.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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 anticipate that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,029 shares of company stock worth $5,382,699. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,289,000 after purchasing an additional 590,650 shares in 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.