Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,401 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First American Bank raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.2% in the fourth quarter. First American Bank now owns 61,770 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,240,000 after buying an additional 31,063 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,454 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 2,570 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,540 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.4% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 20,960 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $190.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $186.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.32. The stock has a market cap of $126.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % 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, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % 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. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.