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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on JNPR. KeyCorp reiterated a sector weight rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays reissued an equal weight rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $34.55.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Juniper Networks stock opened at $34.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 50.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks has a 12 month low of $24.87 and a 12 month high of $38.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.83.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 4.19%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Juniper Networks will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is 127.54%.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNPR. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Juniper Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 0.5% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 300,096 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,122,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Regis Management CO LLC bought a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the first quarter valued at about $245,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Juniper Networks by 202.2% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 218,757 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $8,107,000 after buying an additional 146,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Juniper Networks by 17.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,726 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares in the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Company Profile

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.