Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Downgraded by Argus to Hold

Argus downgraded shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on JNPR. StockNews.com upgraded Juniper Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Juniper Networks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.80.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

NYSE:JNPR opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.53, a P/E/G ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.87. Juniper Networks has a 12 month low of $33.72 and a 12 month high of $39.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.29 and its 200 day moving average is $37.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.13). Juniper Networks had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 7.57%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Juniper Networks will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is 102.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 60.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Juniper Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Juniper Networks by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 84.7% in the third quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 91.95% 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.