Magnetar Financial LLC Reduces Holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,158,010 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 205,670 shares during the quarter. Juniper Networks makes up 1.9% of Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 0.65% of Juniper Networks worth $80,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Juniper Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Juniper Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $76,000. 91.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNPR shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus cut shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Juniper Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Juniper Networks has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 94,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,413,651.42. The trade was a 24.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

NYSE JNPR opened at $36.10 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.72 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

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

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.