Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 11,272 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 626,194 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 11,272 shares during the period. Fortinet makes up approximately 1.3% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Argent Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Fortinet worth $48,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FTNT. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 22.4% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,163,093 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $130,370,000 after buying an additional 395,477 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in Fortinet in the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Fortinet by 543.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 157,319 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $10,765,000 after purchasing an additional 132,871 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Fortinet by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 138,893 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $9,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter worth approximately $3,189,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Price Performance

NASDAQ FTNT traded up $0.50 on Thursday, hitting $80.87. The stock had a trading volume of 567,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,478,388. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.38 and a 200-day moving average of $66.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.32. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.12 and a 52-week high of $83.77. The company has a market capitalization of $61.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.00.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Fortinet had a negative return on equity of 2,160.10% and a net margin of 23.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 24,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.11, for a total value of $1,386,590.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,847,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $608,626,179.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 24,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.11, for a total value of $1,386,590.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,847,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $608,626,179.98. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 23,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.94, for a total value of $1,763,937.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,878,806 shares in the company, valued at $3,662,977,721.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,790,149 over the last three months. 18.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fortinet from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Fortinet from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Fortinet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. HSBC raised shares of Fortinet from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.25.

Fortinet Profile

Fortinet, Inc provides cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions worldwide. It offers secure networking solutions focus on the convergence of networking and security; network firewall solutions that consist of FortiGate data centers, hyperscale, and distributed firewalls, as well as encrypted applications; wireless LAN solutions; and secure connectivity solutions, including FortiSwitch secure ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points, FortiExtender 5G connectivity gateways, and other products.