Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 83,598 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,761 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 52,174 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 7,741 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 209.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 85,977 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,220,000 after buying an additional 58,178 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 146,935 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,488,000 after buying an additional 22,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 91.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of JNPR stock opened at $36.10 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.46. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.72 and a fifty-two week high of $39.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.98, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks’s payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 94,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,413,651.42. This trade represents a 24.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Juniper Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus lowered shares of Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

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.