Algert Global LLC Sells 33,940 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC has reduced its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. by 59.8%, selling 33,940 shares in the first quarter and now owning 22,829 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Fortinet, with MML Investors Services leading by increasing its stake by 70.2%, now owning 77,787 shares valued at $7.3 million.
• Analysts have lowered their target price on Fortinet, with UBS Group reducing it from $105 to $90, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of approximately $97.40.

Algert Global LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 59.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,829 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 33,940 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Fortinet were worth $2,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FTNT. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 26,176 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 77,787 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $7,349,000 after acquiring an additional 32,077 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,387 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,830 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $8,676,000 after acquiring an additional 6,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FTNT. UBS Group lowered their target price on Fortinet from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Fortinet in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Fortinet from $110.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Fortinet from $105.00 to $78.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Fortinet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 158,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total transaction of $15,607,701.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,391,879 shares in the company, valued at $5,061,072,243.92. This trade represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 476,596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total value of $46,935,174.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,730,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $958,265,548.80. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortinet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $77.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $114.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.07.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Fortinet had a return on equity of 111.46% and a net margin of 30.60%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Fortinet

Fortinet, Inc provides cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions worldwide. It offers secure networking solutions focus on the convergence of networking and security; network firewall solutions that consist of FortiGate data centers, hyperscale, and distributed firewalls, as well as encrypted applications; wireless LAN solutions; and secure connectivity solutions, including FortiSwitch secure ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points, FortiExtender 5G connectivity gateways, and other products.

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