Bessemer Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,839,274 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 67,165 shares during the period. Fortinet makes up about 0.8% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.63% of Fortinet worth $465,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $724,048,000. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $389,867,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Fortinet by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,531,705 shares of the software maker's stock worth $617,115,000 after buying an additional 2,846,475 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,622,253 shares of the software maker's stock worth $720,150,000 after buying an additional 2,151,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,388,693 shares of the software maker's stock worth $792,564,000 after buying an additional 2,000,888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Fortinet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FTNT traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,791,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,885,323. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $79.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.67, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $102.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.36. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.57 and a 12-month high of $114.82.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 30.60% and a return on equity of 148.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,546 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $376,266.06. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,000,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,167,217,215.48. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Neukom acquired 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $104.22 per share, for a total transaction of $34,913.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 301,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,419,307.62. This represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTNT has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Fortinet from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fortinet from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Fortinet from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Fortinet from $135.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Fortinet from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.80.

Fortinet Profile

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.