Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Acquires 9,606 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,119 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,606 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $328,470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 40,173 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,731,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $191.03 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.50 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.95. The firm has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.62, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.69.

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.