Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 2,477 Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,965 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JNPR. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Juniper Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Juniper Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Juniper Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 28,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total transaction of $1,047,278.57. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,049,588.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 108,669 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,279. 1.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Juniper Networks Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:JNPR opened at $38.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.14 and its 200-day moving average is $36.71. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.87 and a 1 year high of $39.06.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Juniper Networks had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on JNPR. StockNews.com began coverage on Juniper Networks in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays cut 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Argus raised 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Juniper Networks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.25.

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.