Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Acquires Shares of 1,159,220 Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,159,220 shares of the network equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $43,413,000. Juniper Networks makes up approximately 5.2% of Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd owned 0.35% of Juniper Networks at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Juniper Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,263 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Juniper Networks by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.95% of the company's stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Juniper Networks stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.57. 2,190,231 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,222,890. The firm has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.84. 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 1 year low of $33.42 and a 1 year high of $39.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $35.51 and its 200 day moving average is $36.75.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 5.67%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Juniper Networks's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,771 shares in the company, valued at $3,413,651.42. This trade represents a 24.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNPR. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Juniper Networks from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus downgraded shares of Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Juniper Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.