Altshuler Shaham Ltd Has $172.86 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 465.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 950,000 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 782,000 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 5.8% of Altshuler Shaham Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Altshuler Shaham Ltd owned approximately 0.14% of Palo Alto Networks worth $172,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW traded down $2.07 on Friday, hitting $167.69. 4,768,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,872,875. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.60 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $180.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.73.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

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.