Hantz Financial Services Inc. Cuts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,251 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,489 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,055,031,000 after buying an additional 505,924 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,532,902,000 after buying an additional 36,511 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,202,776,000 after buying an additional 611,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,356,617 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $802,691,000 after acquiring an additional 319,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,756 shares of company stock worth $5,076,355 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $260.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $212.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $261.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, New Street Research dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.