Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Increased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 109.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,197,765 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.64% of Palo Alto Networks worth $764,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 101.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 177,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,316,000 after buying an additional 89,400 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 54,898 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $9,989,000 after acquiring an additional 26,532 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,177,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 141.3% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,959 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $184.38 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.45 and a 200-day moving average of $184.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $122.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.88, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the 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 approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.