Americana Partners LLC Has $8.25 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1,836.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,329 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,988 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.70.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $208.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $186.84 and a 200-day moving average of $182.29. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.04 and a 12-month high of $208.35. The company has a market capitalization of $136.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS 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.