Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Position Lowered by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,426 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 779 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $362.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.72, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.64 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $334.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.29.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PANW. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $364.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $240,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,997,573.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $240,168.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,997,573.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 340,372 shares of company stock valued at $111,366,433. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.