M&T Bank Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 106.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,890 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,153 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $184.28 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $122.01 billion, a PE ratio of 103.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.74.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.