Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,284,634 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 115,967 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $205,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $65,796,000 after purchasing an additional 53,485 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $104,774,000 after buying an additional 29,230 shares during the last quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% in the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 4,659 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,926,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PANW shares. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $387.00 target price (up from $320.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.48.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $323.79 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $368.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $263.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 265.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $300.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.58.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.