Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 85.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,524 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,473 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $167.69 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.60 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

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.

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