HTLF Bank Invests $444,000 in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,506 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fonville Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $684,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,884 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,082 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 8,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Bender Robert & Associates grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Bender Robert & Associates now owns 7,952 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,345,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

PANW stock opened at $277.71 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.30 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $89.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.40.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

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.