Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Free Report) by 60.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 341,191 shares of the network equipment provider's stock after selling 526,218 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.10% of Juniper Networks worth $12,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,820 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Juniper Networks by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,015 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 20.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 210,338 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $8,153,000 after purchasing an additional 35,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.95% of the company's stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE JNPR traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.92. 215,763 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,262,873. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.84. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.42 and a 52-week high of $39.79.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.13). Juniper Networks had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 7.57%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on JNPR shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus cut Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Juniper Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.80.

Insider Activity at Juniper Networks

In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $1,115,827.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 94,771 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

About Juniper Networks

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.