Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $51.25 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,947 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 12,663 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $51,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $177,933,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $150,520,000 after purchasing an additional 444,100 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $47,055,533.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $374.83. 1,449,963 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,382,185. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $233.81 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $348.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.01. The company has a market cap of $121.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.48, a PEG ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current 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.