Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) Position Lessened by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Fortinet, by 13.3%, selling 2,617 shares, leaving it with 17,077 shares valued at approximately $1,644,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Fortinet, with notable increases from Ritholtz Wealth Management and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, reflecting growing investor interest in the company.
• Fortinet's stock has recently received mixed reviews, with analysts setting price targets ranging from $95.00 to $123.00, highlighting a consensus average target price of around $107.00.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,077 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 2,617 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Fortinet were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 26,285 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,530,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fortinet by 47.5% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the software maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Fortinet by 37.3% during the first 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. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in Fortinet by 2.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC now owns 5,018 shares of the software maker's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Fortinet by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,390 shares of the software maker's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Fortinet from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. DZ Bank raised Fortinet from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Fortinet from $123.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Fortinet from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Fortinet Stock Performance

FTNT stock traded down $2.54 on Friday, reaching $97.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,708,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,701,725. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.57 and a 52 week high of $114.82. The company has a market capitalization of $74.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In related news, Director William H. Neukom acquired 335 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $104.22 per share, with a total value of $34,913.70. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 301,471 shares in the company, valued at $31,419,307.62. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.20% of the company's stock.

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.