Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Cuts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,209 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.0% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $8,129,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after purchasing an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $177,933,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,755 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $188,946,000 after buying an additional 249,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $329.75 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $224.64 and a one year high of $380.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $336.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.75. The company has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.08.

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.