Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 125.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,134 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 44,034 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $172.76 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $187.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.49. The company has a market cap of $114.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.33, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PANW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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.