United Services Automobile Association Acquires Shares of 15,012 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,012 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,732,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 106,635 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $19,403,000 after purchasing an additional 57,435 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 101,703 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $18,510,000 after purchasing an additional 51,053 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 5,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,226 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 2,653 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $182.32 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $120.71 billion, a PE ratio of 102.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. JMP Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

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.