First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Position in Public Storage $PSA

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,415 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 534,173 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.11% of Public Storage worth $50,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PSA. Bayban bought a new position in Public Storage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Public Storage during the third quarter worth $27,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Public Storage in the third quarter worth $34,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Storage in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 78.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 950 shares of Public Storage stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total value of $308,569.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,414 shares in the company, valued at $459,281.34. The trade was a 40.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Public Storage Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PSA opened at $323.05 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $315.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $300.14. The company has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.96. Public Storage has a 12 month low of $256.54 and a 12 month high of $331.79.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.12 EPS. The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Public Storage will post 16.94 EPS for the current year.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Public Storage from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Public Storage from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Public Storage from $301.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Public Storage from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Public Storage from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Storage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $325.37.

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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