12 Best Dow Jones Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

7. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74

Dividend Yield as of January 27: 2.08%

On January 26, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani upgraded Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) to Outperform from In Line and lifted his price target to $100 from $80. The shift reflects a more upbeat view on Cisco’s growth path over the next several years. There is still debate over whether Cisco should be viewed as a cyclical or a secular story, but Evercore believes the setup is improving. The firm points to “plenty of tailwinds” that could keep revenue growing at a high single-digit pace while supporting low-teens EPS growth. Those drivers include a campus network refresh cycle, growing AI-related demand, a recovery in traditional enterprise and telecom spending, and expanding EBIT margins. With core networking rebounding and AI traction building, Evercore sees a path for Cisco to generate EPS above $5.00 by FY27.

That same day, Cisco rolled out the Cisco 360 Partner Program, the result of roughly fifteen months of co-design work with its partners. Cisco’s business has long been built around its partner ecosystem, and the new program is aimed at strengthening those relationships as customers adapt to a rapidly evolving, AI-driven environment.

The program expands the way Cisco supports partners while making it easier for them to deliver solutions. It is designed for developers, consultants, managed services providers, resellers, and other partner models, with a focus on helping customers across AI-ready data centers, modern workplaces, and digital resilience.

Cisco said the Cisco 360 Partner Program is meant to provide more clarity and help partners achieve more consistent profitability. Alongside it, the company introduced a new Cisco Partner Locator tool, which allows customers to search for the right partner across key areas such as Security, Networking, Collaboration, Services, Splunk, and Cloud and AI Infrastructure.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) develops and sells technologies that power the Internet, bringing together networking, security, collaboration, applications, and cloud capabilities under one platform.