Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 230,337 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 111.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 436,439 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 230,337 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $79,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $519,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 156,917.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 54,956 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $10,000,000 after purchasing an additional 54,921 shares during the last quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 222,500 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $40,486,000 after buying an additional 112,350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $970,736,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.7% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,304,027 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $237,281,000 after buying an additional 657,597 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $174.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.47 and its 200 day moving average is $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.