Montag A & Associates Inc. Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 119.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,289 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,514 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,533,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,359 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded down $3.15 on Tuesday, reaching $196.73. 3,654,451 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,401,535. The stock has a market cap of $131.18 billion, a PE ratio of 112.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.16.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.