Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) in a report published on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JNPR. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays reiterated an equal weight rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Juniper Networks from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a sector weight rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Juniper Networks has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $34.27.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Juniper Networks stock opened at $36.06 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.49. The company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.80. Juniper Networks has a one year low of $24.87 and a one year high of $38.04.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Juniper Networks will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.63%.

Insider Transactions at Juniper Networks

In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Juniper Networks news, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.10, for a total value of $206,127.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 829,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,770,962.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $3,645,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 216,302 shares of company stock valued at $8,005,602. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Juniper Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Juniper Networks by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 973 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Juniper Networks by 92.1% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 74.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,071 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.