Financial Partners Group LLC Cuts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Financial Partners Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 41.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,711 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 19,951 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 3.2% of Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PANW stock traded down $1.81 on Friday, reaching $339.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,172,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,168,419. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $307.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $109.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PANW. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 a total of 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.