Short Interest in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Declines By 16.0%

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,150,000 shares, a decline of 16.0% from the April 15th total of 14,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Shares of JNPR traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.44. 1,928,776 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,567,197. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks has a 12 month low of $24.87 and a 12 month high of $38.04.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JNPR. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Juniper Networks in a research report on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Juniper Networks has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Juniper Networks news, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total transaction of $190,262.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,323.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Mobassaly sold 5,173 shares of Juniper Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.78, for a total value of $190,262.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326,323.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 79,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.97, for a total value of $2,930,500.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,563,388.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 117,770 shares of company stock worth $4,335,920. Corporate insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $136,778,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 11,418.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,829,071 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $83,401,000 after buying an additional 2,804,509 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 276.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,257,447 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $34,944,000 after acquiring an additional 923,680 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 859.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 836,900 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $31,016,000 after acquiring an additional 749,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Juniper Networks by 487.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 845,795 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $23,505,000 after purchasing an additional 701,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.