Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 739,900 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 97,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $26,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of JNPR. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Juniper Networks by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 40,250 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 7,836 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 125.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,876 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,183,000 after purchasing an additional 78,998 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 115,886 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,416,000 after buying an additional 69,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Juniper Networks by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 40,540 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after buying an additional 4,499 shares during the period. 91.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Juniper Networks from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.25.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In other Juniper Networks news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 28,669 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total value of $1,047,278.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,049,588.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,669 shares of company stock worth $3,947,279. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

NYSE:JNPR opened at $38.90 on Monday. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.87 and a 12-month high of $39.13. The firm has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Juniper Networks had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 127.54%.

Juniper Networks Company Profile

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.