1,790,679 Shares in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.79 million shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter, valued at approximately $128 million and representing about 0.79% of the REIT. Institutional investors collectively own 73.73% of the company.
• W.P. Carey shares opened at $66.57, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $63.08 to $77.22, with a market capitalization of approximately $15.17 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.31, while BNP Paribas Exane recently upgraded it to “outperform” with an $88 target.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,790,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $128,034,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.79% of W.P. Carey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 153,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 27,734 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in W.P. Carey by 124.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 135,849 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,743,000 after acquiring an additional 75,253 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,638,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in W.P. Carey by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 922,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,370,000 after acquiring an additional 71,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company's stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of W.P. Carey stock opened at $66.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.19. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.08 and a 52-week 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WPC shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of W.P. Carey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Evercore set a $77.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.31.

W.P. Carey Profile

W.P. Carey Inc NYSE: WPC is a diversified real estate investment trust that owns and manages a portfolio of commercial properties leased to companies under long-term, primarily net lease agreements. Under these arrangements, tenants generally assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and maintenance, allowing W.P. Carey to generate contractual rental income.

The company invests in and provides sale-leaseback and build-to-suit financing solutions for businesses. Its portfolio has historically included industrial and warehouse facilities, retail properties, office buildings, self-storage facilities and other commercial real estate.

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