Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 243,054 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,566 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 3.4% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $44,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% during the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% during the third quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $207.88 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.61. The company has a market cap of $169.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.85, a PEG ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.