1,325 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Purchased by MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,325 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $102,670,000 after purchasing an additional 431,228 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $106,638,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $81,918,000. 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 $5.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $305.65. 1,643,621 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,221,224. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.75 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $98.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.96, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $285.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.03.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 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 available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,917 shares of company stock worth $44,335,843 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

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.