Northeast Investment Management Has $28.96 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Northeast Investment Management increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 16,964 shares to reach 157,191 shares valued at about $28.96 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks shares. Large holders such as Vanguard, State Street, and Northern Trust also boosted their positions.
• Insiders have recently been selling stock, including CAO Josh D. Paul and Director John P. Key, while the company beat its latest earnings estimate and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $212.09.

Northeast Investment Management grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,191 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.1% of Northeast Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $28,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $6,055,031,000 after acquiring an additional 505,924 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,532,902,000 after acquiring an additional 36,511 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,202,776,000 after acquiring an additional 611,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,356,617 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $802,691,000 after acquiring an additional 319,751 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $215.60 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The company has a market cap of $175.93 billion, a PE ratio of 119.12, a P/E/G ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $169.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.60.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.09.

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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