Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Position Raised by Legacy Private Trust Co.

Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,179 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,496 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. St. Clair Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the second quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,467 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the second quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.6% in the second quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 1,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of PANW opened at $183.44 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $202.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.79.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.