Westwood Wealth Management Has $4.98 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Westwood Wealth Management increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 99.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,346 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,668 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.8% of Westwood Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Westwood Wealth Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,114,786 shares of company stock worth $200,426,637 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 7.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $153.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $185.60 and its 200-day moving average is $185.22. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.83 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.27.

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.