Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Stake Lowered by Alpine Associates Management Inc.

Alpine Associates Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,234,564 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 441,500 shares during the period. Juniper Networks accounts for 5.1% of Alpine Associates Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned 0.67% of Juniper Networks worth $83,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,157,158 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559,884 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 104,067 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 35,991 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 105.6% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 289,900 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $10,857,000 after purchasing an additional 148,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter worth $251,000. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of JNPR opened at $36.07 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G 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.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 7.57%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNPR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of 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. Argus cut shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Juniper Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $1,115,827.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,413,651.42. This represents a 24.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

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.