DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Boosts Holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 465.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,648 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,288 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter worth $322,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Juniper Networks by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 210,010 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $7,865,000 after purchasing an additional 88,071 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter worth $1,195,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Juniper Networks by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 640,329 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $23,980,000 after purchasing an additional 132,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angelo Gordon & CO. L.P. grew its position in Juniper Networks by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Angelo Gordon & CO. L.P. now owns 305,000 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $11,422,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE JNPR opened at $36.33 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.42 and a 52 week high of $39.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.82.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Juniper Networks had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 7.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on JNPR shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Juniper Networks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus cut shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $1,115,827.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 94,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,413,651.42. The trade was a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

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.