Diversified Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Diversified Trust Co reduced its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 27.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,285 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,042 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $340.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,280,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,816,569. The company has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a PE ratio of 49.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.06 and a 200 day moving average of $307.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.17 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.29.

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.