Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Stake Lessened by Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,383 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,056 shares during the quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Impact Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Juniper Networks by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 973 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 22,779 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,875 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of JNPR opened at $36.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a PEG ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.41. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.87 and a 52 week high of $38.04.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). Juniper Networks had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Research analysts expect that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Juniper Networks’s payout ratio is currently 92.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Juniper Networks from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.27.

Insider Transactions at Juniper Networks

In related news, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total value of $190,262.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,323.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $3,645,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,726,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total value of $190,262.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,323.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 216,302 shares of company stock valued at $8,005,602 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

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.