Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 8,100 Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $4,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WPC. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in W.P. Carey by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 753,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,984,000 after buying an additional 11,635 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,164 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,494,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 73.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 96,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 40,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

W.P. Carey stock opened at $71.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.10 and a 200-day moving average of $72.43. The company has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.08 and a 1 year high of $77.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 128.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WPC shares. Barclays boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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, July 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on W.P. Carey in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.38.

About W.P. Carey

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.