Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 17,505 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 36.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,840 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 17,505 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $188.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,799,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,781,803. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $124.56 billion, a PE ratio of 105.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.94 and a 200 day moving average of $184.68.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction 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 approximately $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 448,188 shares of company stock valued at $74,074,795. Company 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.