U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 2,002 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 48.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,917 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% during the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $102,670,000 after acquiring an additional 431,228 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,638,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $81,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,917 shares of company stock valued at $44,335,843 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $296.21. 3,438,974 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,429,938. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $285.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.25. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.09 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $95.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.18.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.