Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Sells 4,880 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,118 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,880 shares during the quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.0 %

PANW traded up $9.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $320.33. 7,203,352 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,960,115. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.17. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.17 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.17.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $240,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,997,573.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.