MFG Wealth Management Inc. Grows Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

MFG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,113 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 2.2% of MFG Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. MFG Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,157 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 20,834 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 8,407 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 43,121 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,943,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 208,583 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $38,421,000 after purchasing an additional 22,919 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $162.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.97 billion, a PE ratio of 90.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $167.77 and a 200-day moving average of $188.73. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays set a $200.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.