Swiss National Bank Sells 31,900 Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,002,500 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 31,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $29,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 11,418.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,829,071 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $83,401,000 after buying an additional 2,804,509 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Juniper Networks by 276.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,257,447 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,944,000 after purchasing an additional 923,680 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Juniper Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $20,615,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 487.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 845,795 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $23,505,000 after purchasing an additional 701,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 215.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 969,705 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $26,948,000 after purchasing an additional 662,172 shares in the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of JNPR stock opened at $34.59 on Thursday. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $24.87 and a one year high of $38.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.43 and its 200 day moving average is $33.33. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.54%.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In related news, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total transaction of $190,262.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,323.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.83, for a total value of $193,480.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 997,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,755,951.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total transaction of $190,262.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,323.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 216,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,981,530. 1.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNPR has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.55.

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.