Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. cut its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 85.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $810,047,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,533,419,000 after buying an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,120,615,000 after buying an additional 3,047,625 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,951,283 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,082,895,000 after buying an additional 2,862,718 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $176.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $192.92 and its 200-day moving average is $186.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $185.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks 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.