Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is Trust Investment Advisors' 7th Largest Position

Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 99.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,621 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 7,288 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 1.7% of Trust Investment Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Trust Investment Advisors' holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $244,871,000 after acquiring an additional 606,778 shares during the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management lifted its position 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 valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Scotiabank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. BTIG Research lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JMP Securities increased 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Three 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.68 during midday 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $187.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.39. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $114.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.33, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current 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.