Pitcairn Co. Boosts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 101.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,916 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,001 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $970,736,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,775,171 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $868,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,114,786 shares of company stock valued at $200,426,637 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $11.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $153.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,982,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,876,430. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.63 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $185.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.10. The company has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Susquehanna upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.27.

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.