Achmea Investment Management B.V. Decreases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 270,933 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 23,899 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.7% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $55,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $169.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $138.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Northland Securities upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Stephens boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.