Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Buys 123,651 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 94.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 254,749 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,651 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 3.9% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $46,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $328,470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,844,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $184.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $122.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.74. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.50 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

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 net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS 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.

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