ING Groep NV Grows Stock Holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,559,587 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 378,265 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.47% of Juniper Networks worth $58,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 116,200 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,352,000 after buying an additional 37,500 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 17,884 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 8,138 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 57,563 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 122,669 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,594,000 after acquiring an additional 11,296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE JNPR opened at $36.03 on Thursday. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.72 and a 52-week high of $39.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.25 and a 200-day moving average of $37.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 41.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.13). Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 5.67%. On average, analysts anticipate that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNPR shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus downgraded Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.80.

Juniper Networks 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.