Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 99.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,980 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,896 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.3% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $191.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.48. The company has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.69.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.