Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,654 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 19.7% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 76,421 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 11.4% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 687,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,492,000 after buying an additional 70,620 shares during the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter valued at $433,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $514,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Pure Storage by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 533,530 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,026,000 after acquiring an additional 62,274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total value of $1,526,815.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 138,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,200,794.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock valued at $15,266,704. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pure Storage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PSTG opened at $52.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.66 and a 200 day moving average of $41.63. The firm has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 307.37, a PEG ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.15. Pure Storage, Inc. has a one year low of $22.14 and a one year high of $58.46.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PSTG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Pure Storage 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.