Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) experienced a notable surge in its stock price, climbing by 3% during trading on Friday. The stock peaked at $85.00 before closing at $84.82. Notably, approximately 23.9 million shares changed hands, representing a 14% increase over the average trading volume of 20.96 million shares. This increase follows a previous closing price of $82.36.
Analysts Boost Price Targets
The rise in Cisco’s stock has been attributed to several updated price targets issued by financial analysts. Melius Research raised its price objective for Cisco shares from $84.00 to $100.00, assigning the company a “buy” rating in a report released on November 13. Similarly, Wells Fargo & Company increased its target from $83.00 to $95.00, also maintaining an “overweight” rating.
In contrast, HSBC adjusted its price objective downward from $69.00 to $74.00, while still designating the stock with a “hold” rating. President Capital lowered its target from $90.00 to $88.00. Meanwhile, Erste Group Bank upgraded Cisco from a “hold” to a “buy” rating on November 10. Currently, one analyst has given Cisco a Strong Buy rating, seventeen recommend a Buy, and seven suggest holding the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems holds a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $94.23.
Financial Performance and Guidance
On November 12, Cisco reported its earnings results, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The company achieved a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 18.38%. Cisco generated revenue of $14.88 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $14.77 billion. This represents a 7.5% increase compared to the same quarter last year, where the company reported EPS of $0.91.
For the fiscal year 2026, Cisco has set its guidance at an EPS range of $4.080 to $4.140, with Q2 2026 guidance between $1.010 and $1.030 EPS. Analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post an EPS of 3.04 for the current fiscal year.
The firm also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, which was paid on January 21, 2026, to shareholders of record as of January 2. This dividend represents an annualized yield of 1.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 61.65%.
Insider Transactions and Institutional Activity
In recent insider trading activity, CEO Charles Robbins sold 281,860 shares on November 17 at an average price of $78.35, totaling approximately $22.08 million. Following this transaction, Robbins retains 820,887 shares valued at about $64.32 million, reflecting a 25.56% decrease in his ownership.
Moreover, Michael D. Capellas, a director at the company, sold 16,150 shares on December 18 for a total of approximately $1.25 million. After this sale, Capellas holds 157,218 shares valued at around $12.15 million, marking a 9.32% decrease in his position. Over the past three months, insiders have sold a total of 1,044,865 shares worth $81.40 million, with insiders currently owning 0.01% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have also adjusted their holdings in Cisco Systems. The Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, now owning approximately 398.9 million shares valued at $30.73 billion. State Street Corp increased its position by 0.6% in the second quarter, holding around 194.7 million shares valued at $13.51 billion. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake by 1.2%, while Norges Bank acquired a new position valued at approximately $3.82 billion. Invesco Ltd. also lifted its holdings by 10.5% in the third quarter, now owning about 53.6 million shares valued at $3.67 billion. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds control 73.33% of Cisco’s stock.
Cisco Systems, Inc. is a prominent global technology company specializing in networking hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment. Its core focus is on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks with products such as routers, switches, and security appliances. Recently, the company has expanded its portfolio to include software-defined networking, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure solutions, further establishing its role in modern IT environments.
