W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG has reduced its position in W.P. Carey Inc. by 45.1%, now holding 5,645 shares valued at approximately $356,000.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.28 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.23, with revenue growing by 10.5% year-over-year.
• W.P. Carey has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, reflecting a positive change in its dividend policy with an annualized yield of 5.4%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 45.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,645 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,634 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 482 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC grew its position in W.P. Carey by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of W.P. Carey from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.89.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

W.P. Carey stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.69. The company had a trading volume of 853,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,630. The company has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.82. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.91 and a 12-month high of $67.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $64.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $430.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $420.99 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 20.42% and a return on equity of 4.00%. W.P. Carey's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.870-4.950 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. W.P. Carey's payout ratio is currently 236.84%.

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.