Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,267,528 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 106,253 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.43% of Fortinet worth $308,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FTNT. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 73.3% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 409 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTNT traded up $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.64. 4,974,960 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,073,400. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.57 and a 12 month high of $112.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $98.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.57 billion, a PE ratio of 49.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.01.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. Fortinet had a return on equity of 463.85% and a net margin of 29.30%. As a group, analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on FTNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fortinet from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Fortinet from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut Fortinet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 23,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.32, for a total transaction of $2,150,466.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,039,698 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,384,617.36. This represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Keith Jensen sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $386,027.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $425,901.87. The trade was a 47.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,860 shares of company stock valued at $6,469,056 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

About Fortinet

Fortinet, Inc provides cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions worldwide. It offers secure networking solutions focus on the convergence of networking and security; network firewall solutions that consist of FortiGate data centers, hyperscale, and distributed firewalls, as well as encrypted applications; wireless LAN solutions; and secure connectivity solutions, including FortiSwitch secure ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points, FortiExtender 5G connectivity gateways, and other products.