Montag & Caldwell LLC Has $5.48 Million Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Montag & Caldwell LLC lessened its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,166 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,549 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.1% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,013 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,710,943 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $504,523,000 after buying an additional 137,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,511 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,183,000 after buying an additional 73,922 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Daiwa America upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $346.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.