Webster Bank N. A. Purchases 44 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 44.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,013 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW traded down $1.81 on Friday, reaching $339.01. 4,172,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,168,419. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $307.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.17 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Redburn Atlantic upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.29.

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.