Pitcairn Co. Reduces Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Pitcairn Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 27.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,406 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,706 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Wealthsource Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $472,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 598,082 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $176,362,000 after acquiring an additional 18,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $4.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $320.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,334,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,524,922. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $321.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.94. The stock has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.33, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 428,391 shares of company stock valued at $136,147,317. Insiders own 3.30% 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.