Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,912 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,912 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $764,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197,765 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 177,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,316,000 after purchasing an additional 89,400 shares during the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 54,898 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,989,000 after purchasing an additional 26,532 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 141.3% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $184.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $122.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.74. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced 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 return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.