Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 10,730 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,730 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,164,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler cut Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $275.02. 3,507,352 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,638,485. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.30 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.99. The company has a market cap of $88.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks 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.