W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Stake Trimmed by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al reduced its position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 514,577 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 66,800 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $33,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $75.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on W.P. Carey from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.79.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

NYSE WPC opened at $64.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.19 and a 52 week high of $77.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.81.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $468.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. W.P. Carey’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

W.P. Carey Company Profile

W.P. Carey Inc (NYSE: WPC) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership and management of commercial properties under long-term, net lease agreements. In a net lease arrangement, tenants generally assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and maintenance, allowing W.P. Carey to generate rental income with relatively predictable operating expenses.

The company’s portfolio is diversified across industrial, warehouse, retail, self-storage and other commercial properties.