Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 101.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,990 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,132 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $268,851,000 after buying an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.6% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three 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 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 a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $5.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $189.95. 5,336,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,739,160. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $125.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. 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.