M&T Bank Corp Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,608 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $16,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,917 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,915 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $102,670,000 after acquiring an additional 431,228 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $106,638,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $81,918,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’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 transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,917 shares of company stock valued at $44,335,843. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $296.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,438,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,429,938. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.09 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $285.98 and its 200-day moving average is $293.25. The company has a market cap of $95.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.