Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.80.

Several equities analysts have commented on JNPR shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus lowered Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Juniper Networks from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

Juniper Networks Stock Up 0.1 %

JNPR stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.10. 1,880,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,115,833. The stock has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. Juniper Networks has a fifty-two week low of $33.72 and a fifty-two week high of $39.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Juniper Networks will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total value of $1,115,827.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,413,651.42. This trade represents a 24.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,672 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 596,479 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $22,338,000 after acquiring an additional 81,075 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,130 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $602,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $9,019,000. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.