Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 2,168,117 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the previous session’s volume of 1,505,070 shares.The stock last traded at $37.76 and had previously closed at $37.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on JNPR shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Juniper Networks in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Juniper Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Juniper Networks Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.78, a PEG ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 71.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,546 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Juniper Networks in the third quarter valued at $61,000. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.