Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Trillium Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.7% in the first quarter, holding 338,852 shares valued at approximately $57.8 million, making it the fund's 9th largest holding.
• Palo Alto Networks recently posted quarterly earnings exceeding analyst expectations with a revenue of $2.29 billion, marking a 15.3% year-over-year increase, and an EPS of $0.80 compared to the expected $0.77.
• The company's stock has seen significant insider selling, with insiders offloading a total of 669,248 shares worth $126 million over the past ninety days, resulting in a 1.87% reduction in the CAO's holdings and a 31.37% decrease in the EVP's ownership.

Trillium Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,852 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 20,513 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.7% of Trillium Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Palo Alto Networks worth $57,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of PANW stock traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $176.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,932,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,553,770. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.26 and a 200 day moving average of $186.70. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The stock has a market cap of $117.93 billion, a PE ratio of 101.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm'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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $496.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $185.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $122,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.