Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Acquires 22,154 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 777,521 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,154 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.24% of Palo Alto Networks worth $220,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.29.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 362,525 shares of company stock valued at $110,064,607. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $341.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.17 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.63.

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

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.