Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Holdings in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,586 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Check Point Software Technologies were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CHKP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $428,820,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $100,456,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $360,257,000 after buying an additional 487,823 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $73,186,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,822,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $340,314,000 after buying an additional 269,925 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Down 1.4%

CHKP opened at $217.59 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.74. The company has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.66. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 52 week low of $145.75 and a 52 week high of $234.36.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $637.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.80 million. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 32.40% and a net margin of 32.97%. Check Point Software Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHKP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research upgraded Check Point Software Technologies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $232.04.

About Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.