Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 4,630 Shares of Public Storage $PSA

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 4,630 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Public Storage were worth $10,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSA. Bayban purchased a new position in Public Storage during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Public Storage during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Public Storage in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in Public Storage by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 142 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Public Storage in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.79% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Storage news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 950 shares of Public Storage stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total transaction of $308,569.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,281.34. This trade represents a 40.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Public Storage in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Public Storage from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $349.00 price objective on shares of Public Storage in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Public Storage from $291.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $325.37.

Public Storage Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE PSA opened at $323.05 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $315.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.14. Public Storage has a 12-month low of $256.54 and a 12-month high of $331.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.96.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.29. Public Storage had a return on equity of 37.78% and a net margin of 39.16%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Public Storage will post 16.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Storage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Public Storage's dividend payout ratio is presently 123.84%.

Public Storage Profile

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.

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