Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 97.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,264 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in 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. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.
View Our Latest Report on Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.7 %
Shares of PANW stock opened at $178.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $176.86 and its 200 day moving average is $184.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.00 and a 12-month high of $208.39.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Palo Alto Networks Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

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