United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Has $8.09 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 98.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,470 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,006 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.69. 4,768,742 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,880,201. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $180.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.71. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.60 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.