Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $1.14 Billion Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,585,298 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 370,106 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.82% of Palo Alto Networks worth $1,137,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $675,865,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $340,883,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $502,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $430,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $167.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $136.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.27, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.50.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.