Bank of Nova Scotia reduces stake in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR – Free Report) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company's most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 629,297 shares of the networking equipment maker after selling 216,498 shares during the same period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.20% of Juniper Networks worth $18,551,000, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other major investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNPR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $136,778,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Juniper Networks by 11,418.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,829,071 shares of the network equipment maker's stock valued at $83,401,000 after buying an additional 2,804,509 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & ​​Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Juniper Networks by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & ​​Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,257,447 shares of the network equipment maker's stock valued at $34,944,000 after buying an additional 923,680 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Juniper Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $20,615,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Juniper Networks by 215.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 969,705 shares of the network equipment maker's stock valued at $26,948,000 after acquiring an additional 662,172 shares during the last quarter. 91.95% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Price development of Juniper Networks shares

NYSE JNPR rose $0.54 on Friday, reaching $35.67. 8,994,504 shares traded, compared to an average volume of 1,666,075. The company's 50-day moving average is $35.64 and its 200-day moving average is $34.31. Juniper Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.87 and a 12-month high of $38.04. The company has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.70, a PEG ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR – Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25. The networking equipment maker reported earnings per share of $0.09 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.09). Juniper Networks had a net margin of 4.19% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Juniper Networks, Inc. will post earnings per share of $1.08 for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will receive a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks' dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.54%.

Insiders place their bets

In other Juniper Networks news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock on Wednesday, May 15. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total transaction of $517,050.00. Following the sale, the CFO now owns 69,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,393,424.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Juniper Networks news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock on Wednesday, May 15. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total transaction of $517,050.00. Following the sale, the CFO now owns 69,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,393,424.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the company's stock on Wednesday, March 06. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $207,923.65. After the sale, the CEO now owns 1,008,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,747,368.97. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,330 shares of the company's stock in the last 90 days, valued at $1,732,206. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street analysts comment

Several equities analysts have issued reports on JNPR shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, April 26. Barclays increased their price target on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Juniper Networks in a research note on Monday, May 27. They gave the stock a “hold” rating. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a “hold” rating and two have assigned a “buy” rating. The company currently has an average rating of “hold” and an average price target of $34.55, according to data from MarketBeat.

Read our latest report on Juniper Networks

Profile of Juniper Networks

(Free report)

Juniper Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and sells networking products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products such as ACX Series Universal Access Routers for delivering high-bandwidth services; MX Series Ethernet Routers that act as a universal edge platform; PTX Series Packet Transport Routers; Wide Area Network SDN Controllers; and Session Smart Routers.

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