Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 78,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Public Storage were worth $26,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Public Storage by 0.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Public Storage by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 67,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,475,000 after acquiring an additional 6,652 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Storage in the 2nd quarter valued at $381,000. Slagle Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Public Storage by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 10,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Public Storage by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 78.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Storage Price Performance

NYSE PSA opened at $299.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $335.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $323.65. Public Storage has a 1 year low of $256.31 and a 1 year high of $369.99.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Public Storage’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.61%.

Insider Transactions at Public Storage

In related news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.99, for a total value of $143,095.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,364 shares in the company, valued at $751,728.36. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PSA. Evercore ISI cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Public Storage from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $360.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Public Storage from $308.00 to $339.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Public Storage from $381.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.07.

About Public Storage

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.