Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 269.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,770 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,768 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,732 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,377,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 144,598 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $49,424,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 60.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 437 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,114,786 shares of company stock worth $200,426,637 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded down $11.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $153.57. 8,982,361 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,876,430. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.63 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $185.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.10. The company has a market cap of $101.68 billion, a PE ratio of 86.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PANW. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Scotiabank increased their target price 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. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.27.

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.