(Telecompaper) Juniper Networks has a new activist shareholder, who has called on the company to cut costs and return more cash to shareholders. Elliott Associates reported a 6.2 percent stake in the network equipment maker and filed a presentation with the SEC on how it would like to see things change at Juniper. Elliott said the company's shares have underperformed, due to an "outsized cost structure, inefficient capital structure, poor M&A track record and execution issues caused by unsuccessful extensions into security and enterprise switching". To improve the performance, the new shareholder would like Juniper to start a programme to cut annual costs by USD 200 million, buy back USD 3.5 billion in shares by the end of 2015 and pledge to return 50 percent of free cash flow to shareholders, and streamline its portfolio, including a review of the security and switching activities. Juniper said it had received the presentation but not yet held talks with Elliott. The company defended its record, noting five consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth, continued efforts to streamline the company's cost base and 105 percent of free cash flow returned to shareholders in the last three years.