Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 609,010 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 117.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,127,007 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 609,010 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of Palo Alto Networks worth $206,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,582 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 8,027 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $172.76. The stock had a trading volume of 6,244,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,908,199. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.39. The company has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.33, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.