Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 6,000 Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,292 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Juniper Networks by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,989,123 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,139,088,000 after buying an additional 325,418 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 3.8% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,982,734 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $166,260,000 after acquiring an additional 219,860 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Juniper Networks by 9.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,709,064 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $158,655,000 after acquiring an additional 502,673 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Juniper Networks by 4.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,047,880 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 176,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 5.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,407,278 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $94,688,000 after acquiring an additional 181,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JNPR shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.55.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total value of $190,262.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,323.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 216,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,981,530. 1.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Juniper Networks Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of JNPR stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 49.93, a PEG ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.87 and a 52-week high of $38.04.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 127.54%.

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.