KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 119,069 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 37,696 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 7,668 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,957,317 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $115,276,000 after buying an additional 33,016 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,374,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,394 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Juniper Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Juniper Networks

In other news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $1,115,827.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,413,651.42. This represents a 24.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Juniper Networks stock opened at $36.11 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.72 and a 12 month high of $39.79.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus cut Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

Juniper Networks 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.