Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 17,227 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 28.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 17,227 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $201.42 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.10, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $194.20 and a 200-day moving average of $185.49.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total value of $19,336,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,343,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,502,253.76. The trade was a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 547,948 shares of company stock valued at $103,462,223 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.