PFC Capital Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

PFC Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 113.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,440 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.1% of PFC Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. PFC Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $970,736,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,775,171 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $868,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $170.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $112.98 billion, a PE ratio of 96.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $187.26 and its 200-day moving average is $185.48. 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Three equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.25.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.