Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 15,536 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 26.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 74,389 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,536 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 0.9% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $25,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0 %

PANW opened at $340.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $110.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.44, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $336.39 and a 200-day moving average of $313.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.64 and a 52 week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

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.