Focus Partners Wealth Has $83.40 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 89.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 421,990 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199,473 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $83,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 541,757 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $98,578,000 after purchasing an additional 198,492 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 128.0% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 57,481 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $10,459,000 after acquiring an additional 32,271 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 105.3% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 5,404 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 103.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 94,264 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $17,152,000 after acquiring an additional 47,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 888.5% in the fourth quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 48,445 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,815,000 after purchasing an additional 43,544 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $186.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $176.07 and a 200-day moving average of $184.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during 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, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.06.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.