Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 86.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 424,601 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 197,131 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 6.1% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $77,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $244,871,000 after buying an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $168.34. 6,295,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,903,601. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.18 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $111.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company's 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 $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 939,318 shares of company stock valued at $165,384,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.