Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Position Increased by Dillon & Associates Inc.

Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,092 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,874 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.0% of Dillon & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Dillon & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,511,732 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $6,215,410,000 after acquiring an additional 304,272 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,430,299 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $804,199,000 after purchasing an additional 86,995 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,971 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $515,147,000 after buying an additional 84,151 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Loop Capital cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $316.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

PANW stock traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $317.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,424,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,169,285. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.75 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.66, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

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.