Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,560 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $25,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PANW opened at $374.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $348.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $323.01. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.81 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.79.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.