Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 83.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,068,255 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 943,850 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $73,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 51.7% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,784 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of PSTG opened at $52.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 307.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.14 and a 12 month high of $58.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.00.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Pure Storage’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total value of $7,863,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,349,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 242,012 shares of company stock worth $12,932,788. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.53.

Pure Storage Company Profile

Pure Storage, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides data storage technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.