Norinchukin Bank The Acquires 20,797 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 125.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,426 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,797 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $22,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 16,836 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,754,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $2.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,768,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,858,295. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.60 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $180.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share 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.