M.D. Sass LLC Has $5.83 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

M.D. Sass LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 157.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,044 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,615 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 0.4% of M.D. Sass LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. M.D. Sass LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 132.3% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 37,910 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 21,594 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 305.5% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 124,603 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $22,673,000 after buying an additional 93,877 shares during the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 63,305 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,519,000 after buying an additional 31,845 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 199.6% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 10,586 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 7,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction 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 approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $1.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $172.76. 6,244,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,908,199. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $187.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.39. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company 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 (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.