Hills Bank & Trust Co Has $7.78 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 98.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,765 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,263 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of PANW opened at $182.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.73, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

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.