Public Storage $PSA Stake Lowered by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its stake in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,344 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Public Storage were worth $10,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PSA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Public Storage by 10.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,068,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,663,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253,225 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Public Storage by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,613,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,114,303,000 after purchasing an additional 126,113 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Public Storage during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,153,971,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Public Storage by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,334,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $963,177,000 after purchasing an additional 177,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Public Storage by 3.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,924,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $857,674,000 after purchasing an additional 87,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded Public Storage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Public Storage from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Public Storage from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $320.00 to $305.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $301.00 target price (down previously from $316.00) on shares of Public Storage in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Public Storage Price Performance

NYSE:PSA opened at $305.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $278.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $282.72. Public Storage has a 52-week low of $256.54 and a 52-week high of $322.49. The firm has a market cap of $53.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a PEG ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.01.

Public Storage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Public Storage’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.04%.

About Public Storage

Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in self-storage services. Headquartered in Glendale, California, the company was founded in the early 1970s and has grown through development and acquisitions to become one of the largest owner-operators of self-storage facilities in the United States. It is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PSA.

The company’s core business is the ownership, operation and management of self-storage properties that serve both residential and commercial customers.