Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Wills Financial Group Inc.

Wills Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 77.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,878 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 21,719 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 3.9% of Wills Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Wills Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th 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 period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised 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 buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.17. 1,681,125 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,795,209. The company has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.89, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.00 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $176.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.70.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

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.