Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Acquires 628 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $1.62 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $286.69. 2,933,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,112,286. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $92.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $321.23 and its 200-day moving average is $285.83.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director John Donovan sold 20,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.57, for a total value of $5,810,645.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,352 shares in the company, valued at $12,510,086.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director John Donovan sold 20,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.57, for a total value of $5,810,645.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,352 shares in the company, valued at $12,510,086.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,153 shares of company stock worth $44,107,332. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.