Groupe la Francaise Takes Position in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WPC. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the third quarter valued at $33,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on W.P. Carey in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.P. Carey

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $32,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,027,268. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

W.P. Carey stock opened at $73.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.24. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $77.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is presently 128.33%.

W.P. Carey Company Profile

W. P. Carey Inc is a diversified net-lease real estate investment trust specializing in single-tenant commercial properties. The company structures sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions to provide long-term net lease financing across a variety of asset classes, including industrial facilities, office buildings, retail centers and self-storage facilities. By employing triple net leases, W. P. Carey transfers property operating expenses, taxes and maintenance responsibility to tenants, creating a stable, predictable income stream for investors.

Founded in 1973 by William Polk Carey, the firm has expanded organically and through strategic mergers and acquisitions.