National Pension Service Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

National Pension Service grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 82.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 606,778 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Palo Alto Networks worth $244,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,048,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $333,925,000 after buying an additional 1,213,073 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.8% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,634,701 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $297,450,000 after buying an additional 848,127 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,722 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $284,353,000 after acquiring an additional 796,964 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,374,653 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $250,132,000 after acquiring an additional 689,458 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of PANW opened at $188.01 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $186.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.08. The company has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a PE ratio of 105.92, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.