Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 12,400 Shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,434 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,400 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Check Point Software Technologies were worth $6,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHKP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $428,820,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $100,456,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,604 shares of the technology company's stock worth $360,257,000 after purchasing an additional 487,823 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $73,186,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,822,787 shares of the technology company's stock worth $340,314,000 after purchasing an additional 269,925 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.51% of the company's stock.

Check Point Software Technologies Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CHKP stock traded down $2.43 on Friday, reaching $216.45. 622,022 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 787,403. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 52 week low of $163.08 and a 52 week high of $234.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.66. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $220.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.72.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.02. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 32.75%. The firm had revenue of $637.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Check Point Software Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded Check Point Software Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital assumed coverage on Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Sixteen research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $232.44.

Check Point Software Technologies 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.