The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $13.92 Million Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 216,806 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,503 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $13,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 61.2% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 242.9% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 432 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Pure Storage during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total transaction of $4,994,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $24,970,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Pure Storage news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $4,994,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 500,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,970,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.32, for a total transaction of $1,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,862,874.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 458,072 shares of company stock worth $25,565,792 in the last quarter. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

NYSE PSTG opened at $49.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.11. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $53.84 and its 200-day moving average is $56.82. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.00 and a 12-month high of $70.41.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PSTG shares. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $59.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Pure Storage from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Pure Storage from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.95.

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.