First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 9,961 Shares of Public Storage $PSA

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 186,123 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,961 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Public Storage were worth $53,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PSA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Public Storage during the second quarter valued at about $1,153,971,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Public Storage by 10.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,068,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,663,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253,225 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Storage by 498.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 578,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $166,970,000 after purchasing an additional 481,872 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Public Storage by 38.0% in the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 1,145,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $330,909,000 after purchasing an additional 315,370 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Public Storage by 375.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 389,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,190,000 after purchasing an additional 307,357 shares during the period. 78.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Storage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PSA opened at $300.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $289.58 and a 200 day moving average of $284.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.99. Public Storage has a 12 month low of $256.54 and a 12 month high of $312.95.

Public Storage Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Public Storage’s payout ratio is 133.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $300.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Public Storage from $320.00 to $305.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore set a $302.00 target price on Public Storage in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Public Storage from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Public Storage from $331.00 to $347.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.13.

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.