Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Boosted by Community Financial Services Group LLC

Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,839 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.5% of Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,100,000. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.2% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 15,669 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,356,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.7% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,003 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,052,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 6,541 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279 over the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $378.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,178,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,027,030. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $233.81 and a one year high of $384.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $348.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $323.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.42 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.79.

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.