Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys 589,816 Shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP significantly increased its stake in Check Point Software Technologies by 214.6%, holding 864,717 shares worth approximately $197 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Assenagon Asset Management S.A. and QRG Capital Management Inc., have recently expanded their investments in Check Point, reflecting a strong interest in the company.
• Check Point's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging around $228.08, despite some firms lowering their price targets in recent reports.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP - Free Report) by 214.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 864,717 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 589,816 shares during the period. Check Point Software Technologies accounts for approximately 1.0% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.79% of Check Point Software Technologies worth $197,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,604 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $360,257,000 after acquiring an additional 487,823 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,822,787 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $340,314,000 after purchasing an additional 269,925 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,687,393 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $384,591,000 after purchasing an additional 46,713 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,429,724 shares of the technology company's stock worth $266,930,000 after purchasing an additional 136,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 2,704.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,304,551 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $297,333,000 after buying an additional 1,258,034 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CHKP shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Check Point Software Technologies and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price objective on Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $224.00 to $207.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $215.00 target price on Check Point Software Technologies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Check Point Software Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.08.

Check Point Software Technologies Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CHKP stock traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.06. The stock had a trading volume of 433,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,185. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $217.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.59. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 12 month low of $169.01 and a 12 month high of $234.35.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $665.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.10 million. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 33.21% and a net margin of 32.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Check Point Software Technologies Company Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.