Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 219,673 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.8% of Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $37,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,142,122,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after buying an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $4.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,561,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,403,583. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a PE ratio of 118.72, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $193.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.44. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 668,722 shares of company stock worth $121,714,798 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.