Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Public Storage $PSA

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) by 43.1% in Q4, selling 69,412 shares and retaining 91,798 shares worth about $24.83 million (≈0.05% of the company).
• Brokerages have trimmed expectations—Bank of America and Wells Fargo downgraded PSA—and the consensus rating is an average "Hold" with an average target price of $306.53.
• Public Storage announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00 (annualized $12.00) for a ~4.5% yield, with an ex-dividend date of March 16, though the payout ratio is a high 133.04%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Free Report) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,798 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 69,412 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Public Storage worth $24,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Public Storage by 4.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 255,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,743,000 after acquiring an additional 10,345 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Public Storage by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,974 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Public Storage by 14,992.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,694 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Public Storage by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 41,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,766,000 after purchasing an additional 6,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanderbilt University boosted its stake in shares of Public Storage by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 9,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 4,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PSA. Bank of America downgraded shares of Public Storage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Public Storage from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Public Storage from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. William Blair set a $305.00 price objective on Public Storage in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Public Storage from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.53.

Public Storage Stock Performance

Shares of PSA stock opened at $268.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.99. Public Storage has a one year low of $256.54 and a one year high of $312.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $291.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.97.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Public Storage's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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