Vanguard Group Increases Stake in Fortinet, Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its ownership of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, as stated in its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Following this acquisition, Vanguard now owns 68,115,470 shares of the cybersecurity software company's stock, having added 730,994 shares during the quarter. As of the last reporting period, Vanguard's stake in Fortinet amounted to about 8.89%, valued at approximately $6,435,550,000.

In addition to Vanguard, several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Fortinet recently. FMR LLC increased its stake significantly by 276.3% during the third quarter, now holding 3,685,230 shares worth $285,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705,767 shares. Similarly, Amundi raised its position by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 6,577,467 shares valued at $631,700,000 after purchasing an extra 1,766,860 shares. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake by 136.0% in the same quarter, amassing 2,919,952 shares worth $275,877,000 through the acquisition of 1,682,708 shares. State Street Corporation also enhanced its holdings by 2.9% in the third quarter, owning 27,281,279 shares valued at $2,115,663,000 after adding an additional 766,135 shares. Lastly, Raymond James Financial Inc. took a new position in Fortinet with an investment of around $69,381,000. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own about 83.71% of Fortinet's stock.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In related news, Fortinet's Director, Kenneth A. Goldman, sold 2,000 shares on March 12th, receiving an average price of $100.00 per share, resulting in a total of $200,000. Following this transaction, Goldman owns 18,612 shares worth roughly $1,861,200, representing a decline of 9.70% in his holdings. This transaction was reported to the SEC. Additionally, CEO Ken Xie sold 23,044 shares on January 15th, achieving an average sale price of $93.32, which totaled $2,150,466.08. Post-sale, Xie holds 49,039,698 shares valued at around $4,576,384,617.36, indicating a slight decrease of 0.05% in his position. Over the past three months, insiders have sold 599,988 shares amounting to $59,094,530. Currently, corporate insiders possess about 18.00% of the company’s stocks.

Fortinet Stock Performance

On Monday, Fortinet shares (NASDAQ:FTNT) began trading at $98.65. The company has a market capitalization of $75.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.65, and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19. The stock has fluctuated between a 1-year low of $54.57 and a high of $114.82. The fifty-day moving average stands at $102.34, while the two-hundred day moving average is $92.53. Furthermore, Fortinet has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67 and both a quick ratio and a current ratio of 1.39 and 1.47, respectively.

Fortinet recently reported its quarterly earnings on February 6th, revealing earnings per share of $0.67, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.60 by $0.07. The company recorded a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 256.53%. Analysts forecast that Fortinet will achieve earnings per share of 2.09 for the current year.

Analyst Ratings and Updates

Various analysts have shared their views on Fortinet's stock recently. Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Fortinet shares from $97.00 to $115.00, assigning a "sector perform" rating on February 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target from $115.00 to $135.00 while highlighting an "outperform" rating. Piper Sandler also reaffirmed an "overweight" rating with a price target increase to $135.00 from a previous $120.00. Meanwhile, Guggenheim maintained a "neutral" rating for Fortinet. KeyCorp upgraded its rating to "overweight" from "sector weight" and set a price target of $115.00 back in December. In total, one analyst has issued a sell rating, nineteen issued hold ratings, twelve recommended buying, and one gave a strong buy recommendation for Fortinet. Current consensus indicates an average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $105.69.

Fortinet Company Overview

Fortinet, Inc. specializes in cybersecurity and the integration of networking and security solutions on a global scale. The company provides secure networking solutions focused on the merging of networking and security, including network firewall solutions, which comprise FortiGate data centers, hyperscale, and distributed firewalls, alongside encrypted applications, wireless LAN solutions, and secure connectivity products such as FortiSwitch secure Ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points, and FortiExtender connectivity gateways.

Vanguard, Fortinet, Investment