Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Holdings Raised by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 82.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 36,334 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,451 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 103.0% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 97,351 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 49,391 shares during the period. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 3,070 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $183.10 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $121.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PANW. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

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.