Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,290,000 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the February 28th total of 8,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Juniper Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Argus lowered Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Juniper Networks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.80.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNPR traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.06. 341,183 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,277,838. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.36. Juniper Networks has a 52-week low of $33.72 and a 52-week high of $39.79. The company has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Juniper Networks will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total value of $1,115,827.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,771 shares in the company, valued at $3,413,651.42. This trade represents a 24.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 30.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,224 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,413 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 47.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 8,420 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

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.