Randolph Co Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Randolph Co Inc raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 99.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,130 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 41,527 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.7% of Randolph Co Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Randolph Co Inc's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded up $1.43 on Friday, hitting $187.70. 3,841,186 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,789,745. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average is $175.97 and its 200 day moving average is $184.70.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks 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.