Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Trims Stock Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its holdings in Pure Storage by 10.1%, now owning approximately 1.56 million shares worth about $68.97 million.
• In addition to Westfield, several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Pure Storage, with Invesco Ltd. boosting its investment by 18.8% during the last quarter.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for Pure Storage, with price targets ranging from $57.00 to $69.95 across various research reports.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,557,874 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 175,792 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.48% of Pure Storage worth $68,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,775 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Pure Storage by 55.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 35.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 910 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Pure Storage by 2.3% in the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 11,372 shares of the technology company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:PSTG traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,807,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,162. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.51 and a 1 year high of $73.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $55.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.48. The company has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.07.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $778.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.03 million. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 3.93%. Pure Storage's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $309,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 75,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,923,592.25. This represents a 7.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 22,601 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total value of $1,253,225.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 261,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,498,234.25. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 547,666 shares of company stock worth $31,887,830. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSTG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Pure Storage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.95.

About Pure Storage

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.