Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,171 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.5% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $31,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $244,871,000 after buying an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 668,962 shares of company stock valued at $116,269,690. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $194.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $129.41 billion, a PE ratio of 109.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.03. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.