Hancock Whitney Corp Buys 301 Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,286 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $1,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSTG. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,911 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,921,000 after buying an additional 27,345 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the third quarter worth approximately $477,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,711 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 210.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,553,402 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $137,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730,123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.91, for a total value of $285,429.07. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 90,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,022.93. This trade represents a 7.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PSTG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pure Storage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Pure Storage from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.95.

Pure Storage Trading Up 1.3 %

PSTG opened at $45.71 on Friday. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.51 and a 12-month high of $73.67. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.29, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.34 and its 200 day moving average is $56.13.

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.