Vestor Capital LLC Has $15.61 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 63.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,780 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,294 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.2% of Vestor Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 103.0% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 97,351 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 49,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.8% during the 4th quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 3,070 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $4.99 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $184.96. 3,408,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,725,357. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $187.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.