Becker Capital Management Inc. Acquires 3,041 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 101.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,042 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

PANW traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,841,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,789,745. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The business's 50-day moving average price is $175.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.70. The stock has a market cap of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.06.

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.