Vontobel Holding Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,957 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,731 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 117,208 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 86,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $312,000. UNICOM Systems Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,508,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $516,611.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 67,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,207,050.96. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $1,229,875.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 262,144 shares in the company, valued at $16,142,827.52. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,178 shares of company stock worth $8,871,746 over the last three months. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PSTG. Citigroup upped their price target on Pure Storage from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Pure Storage from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.70.

Pure Storage Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PSTG opened at $68.85 on Wednesday. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.78 and a 52-week high of $73.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.76. The company has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 181.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.09.

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.