Fifth Third Bancorp Has $256.65 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its PANW stake by 2.9% in Q4, selling 41,845 shares and now holds 1,393,304 shares valued at $256.65 million, making Palo Alto Networks its 27th largest holding (0.8% of Fifth Third’s portfolio) and representing 0.20% of PANW.
• Institutional ownership is heavy at about 79.82%, led by large positions such as Vanguard’s ~67.9 million shares (~$12.5 billion), showing broad institutional backing despite some portfolio adjustments.
• Palo Alto Networks beat Q4 EPS and revenue expectations with revenue up 14.9% year-over-year; analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $210.07, though the stock trades at a high P/E (~99x).

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,393,304 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 41,845 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 0.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.20% of Palo Alto Networks worth $256,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $750,875,000 after purchasing an additional 708,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $179.32 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $163.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.41. The company has a market capitalization of $146.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.07, a P/E/G ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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