Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,459 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,129 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 2.0% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $39,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Mosley Wealth Management grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.68 during 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $187.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.39. The stock has a market cap of $114.38 billion, a PE ratio of 97.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.