Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 210.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,553,402 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,730,123 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.78% of Pure Storage worth $137,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Pure Storage by 97.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 5,918 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the second quarter worth about $748,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Pure Storage during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,781,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 174.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 741 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 5.0% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,058 shares of the technology company's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PSTG shares. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $72.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.10.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.55, for a total value of $6,555,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,316,722 shares in the company, valued at $479,611,127.10. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.32, for a total transaction of $1,258,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,862,874.48. This represents a 20.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 462,853 shares of company stock valued at $25,670,642. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pure Storage Price Performance

NYSE:PSTG traded up $2.91 on Monday, reaching $66.62. 3,378,230 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,670,065. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.32 and a 12 month high of $70.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.84. The firm has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a PE ratio of 175.61, a P/E/G ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.13.

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.