Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 500,728 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 14,437 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $17,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 53.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,380 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Pure Storage by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,227 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PSTG shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In related news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 507,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,813,107.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Pure Storage news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 507,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,813,107.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew William Fraser Brown sold 20,564 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.31, for a total transaction of $1,075,702.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,364. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock valued at $15,266,704. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of PSTG stock opened at $52.44 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 308.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.15. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.14 and a 12 month high of $58.46.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last announced 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 return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 2.17%. The company had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Pure Storage’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pure Storage Company Profile

Pure Storage, Inc engages in the provision of data storage and management technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. Its Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as always-on data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.