SageView Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 110.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,062 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $22,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,915,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 16,836 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,754,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.1 %

PANW stock traded up $3.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.55. 4,132,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,893,758. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.18 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $181.95 and its 200 day moving average is $184.92. The firm has a market cap of $114.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.