WD Rutherford LLC Lowers Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

WD Rutherford LLC decreased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,460 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 2.0% of WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position 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 position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 463.5% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 493,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,591,000 after buying an additional 405,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirova US LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $291.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.10. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.30 and a twelve month high of $380.84.

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

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.