Yakira Capital Management Inc. Purchases 63,000 Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Yakira Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) by 86.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,607 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,000 shares during the period. Juniper Networks makes up about 1.9% of Yakira Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Yakira Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Juniper Networks were worth $5,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNPR. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Juniper Networks by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,263 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE JNPR opened at $33.94 on Friday. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.72 and a 1 year high of $39.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.29. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.46, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNPR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Juniper Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus cut Juniper Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.80.

Insider Transactions at Juniper Networks

In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.28% 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.