Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 44,186 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 97.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 89,621 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 44,186 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $16,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $185.00 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.49 billion, a PE ratio of 104.23, 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.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.