Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.67.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Juniper Networks in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Juniper Networks from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Juniper Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th.

Insider Activity

In other Juniper Networks news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $1,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 124,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,324. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 108,669 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,279. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 40,250 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 7,836 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,876 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,183,000 after acquiring an additional 78,998 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 150.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 115,886 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,416,000 after purchasing an additional 69,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 40,540 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

NYSE:JNPR opened at $38.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.33, a P/E/G ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.77. Juniper Networks has a one year low of $24.87 and a one year high of $39.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The network equipment provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 4.58%. The company’s revenue was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Juniper Networks will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Juniper Networks’s payout ratio is presently 127.54%.

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.