Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) by 104.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,272 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Public Storage were worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Public Storage during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Storage during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Public Storage in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Public Storage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Public Storage by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PSA. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $343.00 to $338.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Public Storage from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $298.00 to $299.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Public Storage from $293.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Public Storage from $358.00 to $344.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Public Storage from $306.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.54.

Insider Activity

In other Public Storage news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 450 shares of Public Storage stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.99, for a total transaction of $143,095.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $751,728.36. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Public Storage Stock Down 0.5 %

PSA stock opened at $296.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.74. Public Storage has a 52 week low of $256.31 and a 52 week high of $369.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Public Storage’s payout ratio is currently 124.61%.

Public Storage Company Profile

Public Storage, a member of the S&P 500 and FT Global 500, is a REIT that primarily acquires, develops, owns, and operates self-storage facilities. At December 31, 2023, we had: (i) interests in 3,044 self-storage facilities located in 40 states with approximately 218 million net rentable square feet in the United States and (ii) a 35% common equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage Limited (Euronext Brussels: SHUR), which owned 275 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European nations with approximately 15 million net rentable square feet operated under the Shurgard brand.