Windle Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Windle Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,338 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,669 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 0.5% of Windle Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $764,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197,765 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $388,155,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $333,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,073 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $178.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.47 billion, a PE ratio of 100.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.50 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $185.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.83.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last three months. Company 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.