Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,644,902 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 311,442 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.50% of Pure Storage worth $72,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 55.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 157.4% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 713 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% of the company's stock.

Pure Storage Price Performance

NYSE:PSTG traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.11. 1,811,233 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,975,930. The company has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 145.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.19. Pure Storage, Inc. has a one year low of $34.51 and a one year high of $73.67.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 4.22%. The business had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total value of $44,916.72. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 89,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,470.01. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.01, for a total transaction of $5,201,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 801,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,709,887.59. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,083 shares of company stock valued at $6,150,676. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PSTG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.95.

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.