Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Buys 509,912 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. by 138.1% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at around $84.6 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Norges Bank and FMR LLC, have also significantly increased their stakes in Fortinet, with institutional ownership now at 83.71% of the company's stock.
• Fortinet's CEO, Ken Xie, sold 158,488 shares recently for roughly $16.8 million, while insider ownership stands at 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 138.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 879,059 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 509,912 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.11% of Fortinet worth $84,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the first quarter worth about $308,000. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 1.8% in the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 23,920 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortinet by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 315,408 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $30,361,000 after acquiring an additional 89,833 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 1st quarter worth about $879,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the first quarter worth approximately $14,804,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,546 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $376,266.06. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,000,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,217,215.48. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Neukom bought 335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $104.22 per share, for a total transaction of $34,913.70. Following the purchase, the director owned 301,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,419,307.62. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortinet Price Performance

FTNT traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $104.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,121,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,758,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Fortinet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.57 and a 1-year high of $114.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $103.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.65.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Fortinet had a net margin of 30.60% and a return on equity of 148.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FTNT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Fortinet from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fortinet from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fortinet from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Fortinet from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Fortinet Profile

Fortinet, Inc provides cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions worldwide. It offers secure networking solutions focus on the convergence of networking and security; network firewall solutions that consist of FortiGate data centers, hyperscale, and distributed firewalls, as well as encrypted applications; wireless LAN solutions; and secure connectivity solutions, including FortiSwitch secure ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points, FortiExtender 5G connectivity gateways, and other products.