Central Bank & Trust Co. Has $839,000 Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4,282.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,454 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,398 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 28.6% in the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 22,996 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,860,000 after buying an additional 5,109 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 14.3% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 991 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 26.9% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 113,524 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after buying an additional 24,030 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,277 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective 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. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $361.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $352.97 and a 200-day moving average of $330.32. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $233.81 and a one year high of $384.00. The company has a market cap of $117.58 billion, a PE ratio of 49.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077 over the last 90 days. 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.