Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Research Coverage Started at Sanford C. Bernstein

Posted by Geri Gentry on Oct 3rd, 2026

Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $110.00 target price on the network equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CSCO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.52.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CSCO

Cisco Systems Trading Up 3.2%

Cisco Systems stock opened at $112.20 on Wednesday. Cisco Systems has a 12-month low of $66.81 and a 12-month high of $130.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.00 and a 200 day moving average of $106.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $17.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $723,495.11. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,638,447.48. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.46, for a total value of $310,389.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 165,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,938.96. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth $42,129,647,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8,718.3% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 51,952,421 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $400,190,000 after acquiring an additional 51,363,281 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at about $4,714,574,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the second quarter worth about $1,997,004,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Cisco Systems from “hold” to “strong buy,” providing a notable near-term sentiment boost. Investors Heavily Search Cisco Systems
Positive Sentiment: Cisco is scheduled to distribute approximately $1.66 billion in dividends on October 21. The payout reinforces the company’s shareholder-return appeal and may support demand for the stock. Cisco Dividend Payouts
Positive Sentiment: Cisco’s AI infrastructure momentum remains a key catalyst: product orders increased 35% year over year in fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, while AI infrastructure orders reportedly exceeded Wall Street expectations. The company also announced a sovereign AI infrastructure partnership with Bell Canada, potentially expanding its networking, security and observability products in regulated markets. Bell Cisco Sovereign AI Pact
Positive Sentiment: The industrial-control-system security market is projected to grow at a 16.5% annual rate through 2031, creating a favorable backdrop for Cisco’s cybersecurity business. Industrial Control System Security Market Forecast
Neutral Sentiment: Bernstein initiated coverage with a “market perform” rating, suggesting balanced expectations despite Cisco’s AI opportunity. Bernstein Cisco Coverage
Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $125, indicating reduced upside expectations. Management’s cautious fiscal 2027 AI revenue outlook and the fact that AI represented only about 6% of fiscal 2026 revenue also highlight execution and valuation risks. Piper Sandler Cisco Price Target

Cisco Systems Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability and data center solutions. Its products and services help businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations connect users and devices, manage infrastructure, protect digital environments and support cloud-based operations.

Cisco’s portfolio includes routers and switches, wireless networking equipment, network management software, firewalls, identity and access tools, endpoint security products, collaboration applications and observability platforms.