Field & Main Bank Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,703 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.1% of Field & Main Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $102,670,000 after buying an additional 431,228 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 463.5% during the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 493,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,591,000 after acquiring an additional 405,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirova US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.7 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $293.41. 2,980,002 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,393,582. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.81. The stock has a market cap of $94.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,917 shares of company stock worth $33,959,203 over the last three months. 3.30% 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.