Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 93.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,160,308 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 560,973 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.18% of Palo Alto Networks worth $211,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $970,736,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,048,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,775,171 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $868,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $178.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,534,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,823,934. The business's fifty day moving average is $176.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.72. The stock has a market cap of $118.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.83, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.00 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.