2,859,460 Shares in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Bought by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank bought 2,859,460 shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter, a stake worth about $184.0 million and equal to 1.30% of the REIT.
• W.P. Carey reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.30 versus the $0.61 estimate and revenue of $454.5 million, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a Hold consensus and average price target of $75; meanwhile, the stock was trading around $73.57, near its 52-week high.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,859,460 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $184,035,000. Norges Bank owned 1.30% of W.P. Carey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $844,065,000 after purchasing an additional 119,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $307,913,000 after purchasing an additional 110,306 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,213,013 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,150,000 after purchasing an additional 441,526 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 416.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,892,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $263,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,266 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,171,690 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $214,315,000 after purchasing an additional 49,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company's stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WPC opened at $73.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.76. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.09 and a 12 month high of $75.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.00.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $430.64 million. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 29.35%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. W.P. Carey's dividend payout ratio is 158.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of W.P. Carey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $32,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,268. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore set a $74.00 target price on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial raised W.P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.P. Carey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

W.P. Carey 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.

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