Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 90.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 134,414 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 63,727 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 2.3% of Washington Trust Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $4.99 on Wednesday, reaching $184.96. 3,408,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,725,905. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap 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 company's 50-day moving average is $187.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current 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.