Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Purchases 5,509 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 73.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,026 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,509 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grassi Investment Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 7,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 4,880 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 181.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 930 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,372 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,937 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504 shares during the period. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $192.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a PE ratio of 108.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $177.37 and its 200 day moving average is $185.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.46.

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.