Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 125.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,559 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,315 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 8,910 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,946,000. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 24,353 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 12,461 shares in the last quarter. Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $1,478,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 319.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,011 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % 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. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna raised their price target 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. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PANW stock traded up $1.64 on Monday, hitting $169.98. The stock had a trading volume of 5,098,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,901,559. The company has a market cap of $112.54 billion, a PE ratio of 95.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $135.18 and a one year high of $208.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $182.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.90.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.