Northern Trust Corp Acquires 4,486,654 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 133.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.20% of Palo Alto Networks worth $1,427,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,142,122,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $970,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,533,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,904,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,810,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.77 billion, a PE ratio of 105.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $176.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.70. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.00 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.