Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 379.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,993 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,657 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $271.95. 779,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,611,331. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $302.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.99. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $176.30 and a one year high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.52, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.