Baird Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 234.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,003 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 35,761 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in W. P. Carey were worth $2,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WPC. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 91.7% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,085 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 8,197 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W. P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at $1,942,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 30,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 11,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 116.1% during the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,661 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 5,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company's stock.

W. P. Carey Stock Performance

NYSE:WPC traded up $0.63 on Friday, hitting $61.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,146,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,744. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.39. W. P. Carey Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.91 and a 52-week high of $66.10.

W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $407.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $412.99 million. W. P. Carey had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 29.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that W. P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. This is a boost from W. P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. W. P. Carey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WPC. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of W. P. Carey in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W. P. Carey from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W. P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on W. P. Carey from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on W. P. Carey from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.88.

About W. P. Carey

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.