Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 54,609 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2,525.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,771 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,609 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $328,470,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 40,173 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $13,731,000 after buying an additional 5,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $205.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.11 and a 200 day moving average of $182.68. The company has a market cap of $134.65 billion, a PE ratio of 115.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.04 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.70.

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.