Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Holdings in Public Storage $PSA

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,797 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,436 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Public Storage were worth $25,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PSA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Public Storage in the fourth quarter valued at $1,163,751,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Public Storage by 821.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,134,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,073,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,686,211 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Public Storage by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,343,098 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,576,534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274,397 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Public Storage by 287.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 721,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $187,252,000 after purchasing an additional 535,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Public Storage by 498.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 578,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $166,970,000 after purchasing an additional 481,872 shares during the period. 78.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PSA shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Public Storage from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $341.00 price objective on shares of Public Storage in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Public Storage from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Public Storage from $314.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Public Storage from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.05.

Public Storage Stock Down 0.4%

PSA opened at $323.96 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $321.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $56.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.96. Public Storage has a 52 week low of $256.54 and a 52 week high of $335.55.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Public Storage’s payout ratio is presently 114.50%.

Insider Activity at Public Storage

In other news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 1,414 shares in the company, valued at $459,281.34. This represents a 40.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Public Storage Company 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.