Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,380 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 720 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Juniper Networks by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,654 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Juniper Networks Trading Down 3.7 %

Juniper Networks stock opened at $33.94 on Friday. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.72 and a 52 week high of $39.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.31.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.13). Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 5.67%. Research analysts forecast that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $1,115,827.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 94,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,413,651.42. This trade represents a 24.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNPR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Juniper Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.80.

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.