EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $19.38 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 108.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,508 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 55,506 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $19,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 241.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,714 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 4,746 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 99.8% during the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,103 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 9,318 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 258.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 16,359 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 11,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 749 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $188.69 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $124.93 billion, a PE ratio of 106.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 448,188 shares of company stock worth $74,074,795 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.