Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 525,502 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 38,164 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.16% of Juniper Networks worth $19,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNPR. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Juniper Networks by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Juniper Networks by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,654 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total value of $1,115,827.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Juniper Networks Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of JNPR stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,088,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,280,781. The stock has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.46. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.72 and a 52-week high of $39.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.36.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 predict that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JNPR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Juniper Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, Argus lowered Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.