W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Stock Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,386 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 177,680 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $5,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $2,371,801,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $189,315,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $164,853,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at approximately $128,034,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at approximately $127,824,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

WPC stock opened at $65.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.19 and a 1 year high of $77.22.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.09). W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 35.60%. The company had revenue of $468.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is presently 131.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WPC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $75.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Evercore set a $75.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.79.

W.P. Carey Company Profile

W.P. Carey Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages commercial properties leased to businesses under long-term net leases. Under these arrangements, tenants typically pay property expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance in addition to rent. The company’s portfolio focuses primarily on industrial and warehouse properties, along with retail and self-storage facilities. Its properties serve tenants in the United States and Europe. In 2023, W.P. Carey separated its office properties into a new, publicly traded company as part of a shift toward its other property types.