Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Has $7.83 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 73.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,906 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,737 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 1.3% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in 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 period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $365.96 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $351.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $326.78. The company has a market cap of $118.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $233.81 and a one year high of $384.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total value of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total transaction of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.82.

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.