Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 49.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,622 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 1,578 shares during the quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 worth $1,533,419,000 after buying an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $196.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $130.88 billion, a PE ratio of 112.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $195.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares in the company, valued at $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks 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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.