Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Stock Holdings in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,434 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,400 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Check Point Software Technologies were worth $6,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHKP. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $301,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,442 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 184.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 57,690 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,149,000 after purchasing an additional 37,407 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 30,041 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $452,000. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Check Point Software Technologies Trading Down 1.7%

Check Point Software Technologies stock opened at $219.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.08. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 12-month low of $153.88 and a 12-month high of $234.36.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.02. Check Point Software Technologies had a net margin of 32.75% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company had revenue of $637.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. Check Point Software Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CHKP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Check Point Software Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $232.44.

Check Point Software Technologies Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.