Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,533 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $344.05 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $335.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.96. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $224.64 and a one year high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $111.40 billion, a PE ratio of 50.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $47,055,533.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

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.