Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 9,264 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.7% in Q4, acquiring 9,264 shares to hold 357,071 shares worth about $65.77 million.
• CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares at an average $146.87 (~$9.99M), raising his ownership to 343,394 shares (a 24.73% increase), while insiders have sold 30,356 shares worth $4.98M over the past 90 days.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.03 vs. $0.94) with revenue up 14.9% YoY; the stock trades near $178.54, has a $145.7B market cap, and a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $210.07.

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 357,071 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,264 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Palo Alto Networks worth $65,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $178.54 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $161.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.10. The company has a market cap of $145.69 billion, a PE ratio of 98.64, a PEG ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.