Prudential PLC Makes New Investment in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has made a new investment in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., acquiring 5,015 shares valued at approximately $1,143,000 in the first quarter.
• Check Point reported earnings of $2.37 per share for the last quarter, slightly surpassing the consensus estimate and marking a 6.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analysts have recently adjusted price targets for Check Point, with several firms lowering their expectations; however, the average target price remains at $228.08 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,015 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,143,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,998 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,903,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Core Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Check Point Software Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $228,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 43,936 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies in the first quarter valued at $88,286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company's stock.

Check Point Software Technologies Trading Up 1.9%

CHKP opened at $188.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.59. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 1 year low of $169.01 and a 1 year high of $234.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.47.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.01. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 33.21% and a net margin of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $665.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CHKP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $265.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Check Point Software Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays set a $215.00 price objective on Check Point Software Technologies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $229.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Check Point Software Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.08.

Check Point Software Technologies Company Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.

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