Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Reaches New 52-Week High at $39.03

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $39.03 and last traded at $38.99, with a volume of 377169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, August 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, July 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Juniper Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.25.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.20 and a 200-day moving average of $36.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.14, a P/E/G ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The network equipment provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.13). Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 4.58%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is 127.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $1,440,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,059,660. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $195,369.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 981,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,509,120.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $1,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,660. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,779 shares of company stock valued at $4,339,795. 1.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Juniper Networks during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.