Wambolt & Associates LLC Purchases 8,818 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 70.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,362 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,818 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.2% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $184.79 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.11, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.23.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.