Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 1,602 Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,947 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Juniper Networks by 128.3% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 674,400 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $19,881,000 after purchasing an additional 379,000 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,100 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Juniper Networks by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 278,696 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,215,000 after buying an additional 21,253 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Juniper Networks by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,614,022 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,581,000 after buying an additional 69,711 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Juniper Networks by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,723 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of JNPR stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.87 and a 12-month high of $38.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.34.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNPR shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Juniper Networks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.55.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In other Juniper Networks news, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.53, for a total transaction of $208,479.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,589 shares in the company, valued at $38,265,175.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,726,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.53, for a total transaction of $208,479.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,265,175.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 216,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,981,530. 1.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.