Geneva Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Geneva Partners LLC cut its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,683 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 2.1% of Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the third 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. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded down $3.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $277.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,748,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,585,325. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $295.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.40. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.