Mirova US LLC Buys 17,060 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mirova US LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 843,447 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 3.6% of Mirova US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Mirova US LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $285,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, August 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 376,372 shares of company stock valued at $121,925,593 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $362.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.45 billion, a PE ratio of 52.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $333.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.12. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.64 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

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