Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $17.41 Million Position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 446,529 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,651 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $17,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 71.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,546 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 57.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,568 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

NYSE JNPR opened at $38.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.37. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.83 and a 52-week high of $39.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.55, a P/E/G ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.93.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

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.