Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fortinet, Inc. by 71.2% in Q1, holding 157,187 shares valued at approximately $15.13 million.
• Major changes in institutional ownership were noted, with multiple hedge funds like Ritholtz Wealth Management and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services also increasing their positions in Fortinet during the same period.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed reviews on Fortinet, with two strong buy ratings but a majority rating it as a hold; the average target price is set at $97.40.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 71.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,187 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 65,357 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Fortinet were worth $15,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 752 shares of the software maker's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 12,334 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 26,285 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,530,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the software maker's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 412 shares of the software maker's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Trading Up 2.9%

FTNT traded up $2.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,171,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,984,843. Fortinet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.12 and a fifty-two week high of $114.82. The stock has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $96.98 and its 200-day moving average is $100.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 111.46% and a net margin of 30.60%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 476,596 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total value of $46,935,174.08. Following the sale, the vice president owned 9,730,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $958,265,548.80. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 158,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total value of $15,607,701.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,391,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,061,072,243.92. The trade was a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Fortinet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Fortinet from $125.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Fortinet from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fortinet from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.40.

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.