Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Trims Stock Position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,448 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $2,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 61.2% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. lifted its position in Pure Storage by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 4,542 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Pure Storage by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 7,202 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Pure Storage by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,073 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pure Storage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PSTG opened at $50.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 179.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.97. Pure Storage, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.00 and a twelve month high of $70.41.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $763.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $756.59 million. Equities research analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 14,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.79, for a total value of $911,941.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 518,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,082,961.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total value of $5,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 900,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,550,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 14,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.79, for a total value of $911,941.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 518,623 shares in the company, valued at $33,082,961.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 424,177 shares of company stock valued at $23,857,083. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSTG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Pure Storage from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.95.

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.