Walter Public Investments Inc. Buys 19,962 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 39,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,962 shares during the quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $268,851,000 after acquiring an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,217 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $22,633,000 after acquiring an additional 8,246 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $189.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.12. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.79, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.