361,633 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Acquired by Mirova US LLC

Mirova US LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 361,633 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,638,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.6% of Mirova US LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Mirova US LLC owned 0.11% of Palo Alto Networks at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 146.5% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 493 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $716,000. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $587,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 265,930 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $78,417,000 after acquiring an additional 32,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $3,164,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $277.48. The company had a trading volume of 976,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,589,125. The firm has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.30 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $300.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Loop Capital cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. Company insiders own 3.30% 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.