Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stock Position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Free Report) by 95.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,748 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 1,390,926 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $2,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Juniper Networks by 14,314.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,832,105 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $176,179,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798,583 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Juniper Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $25,337,000. Twin Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 760.3% during the third quarter. Twin Securities Inc. now owns 678,257 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $26,438,000 after buying an additional 599,420 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,758,844 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $614,280,000 after buying an additional 574,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Juniper Networks by 172,681.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 552,900 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $21,552,000 after buying an additional 552,580 shares in the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNPR shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.50.

Juniper Networks Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE JNPR traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,209,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,707,831. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.89. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $37.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.68. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.94 and a 1 year high of $39.79.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.79%.

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.