Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 202,606 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 75.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 471,317 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 202,606 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Palo Alto Networks worth $85,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $153.57 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $101.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $185.60 and its 200 day moving average is $185.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.83 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 818,544 shares of company stock worth $147,132,028 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.