Flputnam Investment Management Co. Invests $1.84 Million in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 25,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WPC. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in W.P. Carey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WPC. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 0.3%

W.P. Carey stock opened at $71.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.08 and a 12 month high of $77.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.