Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 86.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 227,913 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 105,766 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $41,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position 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 valued at $1,427,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after buying an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.46.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PANW stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $194.48. The company had a trading volume of 9,202,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,679,412. The firm has a market cap of $128.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $178.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.32. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.