Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) Holdings Boosted by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. by 57.2% during Q1, now owning over 2.2 million shares worth approximately $212.8 million.
• CEO Ken Xie sold 158,488 shares for about $16.8 million, reducing his stake slightly, while corporate insiders collectively own 17.20% of the company.
• Fortinet reported earnings of $0.58 per share, surpassing estimates, while analysts have varying ratings with a consensus target price of $107.00.

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 57.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,211,113 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 804,373 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.29% of Fortinet worth $212,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 38.4% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,794 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Fortinet in the first quarter worth about $216,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Fortinet by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 131,411 shares of the software maker's stock worth $12,650,000 after purchasing an additional 38,080 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Fortinet by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 124,501 shares of the software maker's stock worth $11,763,000 after acquiring an additional 16,139 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Fortinet by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 20,025 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,189 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FTNT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $110.00 target price on Fortinet and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,546 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $376,266.06. Following the sale, the vice president owned 11,000,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,167,217,215.48. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Neukom bought 335 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $104.22 per share, for a total transaction of $34,913.70. Following the acquisition, the director owned 301,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Fortinet Price Performance

FTNT stock traded down $3.06 on Wednesday, reaching $101.71. 5,323,969 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,751,631. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.48 and a 200-day moving average of $101.74. Fortinet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.57 and a twelve month high of $114.82. The firm has a market cap of $77.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Fortinet had a return on equity of 148.79% and a net margin of 30.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.