StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a hold rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Juniper Networks has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $34.55.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

JNPR stock opened at $34.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.57 and a 200-day moving average of $33.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks has a 12 month low of $24.87 and a 12 month high of $38.04.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 127.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Juniper Networks

In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $3,645,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,726,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total transaction of $190,262.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,323.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $3,645,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 73,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 221,856 shares of company stock worth $8,187,658. 1.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 973 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Juniper Networks by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Juniper Networks by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,576 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Juniper Networks by 3.5% during the third quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,075 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks, Inc designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers.