Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Buys 165 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,609 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.3% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 264,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $196.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $184.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.87 billion, a PE ratio of 110.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.