Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 99.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,980 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,896 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.3% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Swedbank AB grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $268,851,000 after purchasing an additional 129,371 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.9% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 16,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.6% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,168 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.69.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.9 %

PANW opened at $191.03 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $187.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.48. The company has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.