Dover Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Dover Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,024 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,628 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 2.7% of Dover Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Del Sette Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Del Sette Capital Management LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,824,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,458.7% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,338 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 5,188 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $398,000. Finally, Little House Capital LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $769,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Northland Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $291.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,246,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,487,617. The firm has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $287.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.58. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.30 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.