Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Reduces Stake in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY trimmed its position in shares of Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Public Storage were worth $3,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PSA. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Public Storage by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 90 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Storage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Public Storage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Storage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Public Storage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.75% of the company’s stock.

Public Storage Price Performance

PSA opened at $258.08 on Tuesday. Public Storage has a 1 year low of $233.18 and a 1 year high of $316.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.50.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.21 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Public Storage had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 34.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Public Storage will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Public Storage Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 13th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 12th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Public Storage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.37, for a total value of $98,148.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,286 shares in the company, valued at $3,259,985.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Public Storage in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Public Storage in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Public Storage in a research note on Saturday, October 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Public Storage in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Public Storage from $360.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $299.83.

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 September 30, 2023, we had: (i) interests in 3,028 self-storage facilities located in 40 states with approximately 217 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 267 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European nations with approximately 15 million net rentable square feet operated under the Shurgard brand.