Diversify Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.48 Million in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Diversify Wealth Management LLC opened a new position in W.P. Carey during the first quarter, buying 20,611 shares worth about $1.48 million.
• Other institutions also increased or initiated stakes, and institutional investors now own 73.73% of W.P. Carey’s stock.
• W.P. Carey reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its dividend to $0.94 per share, bringing the annualized yield to about 5.2%.

Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in W.P. Carey in the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in W.P. Carey by 3.7% during the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 215,152 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,622,000 after buying an additional 7,578 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in W.P. Carey by 22.1% during 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 buying an additional 27,734 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in W.P. Carey by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 153,460 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WPC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America raised shares of W.P. Carey from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $76.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.83.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

Shares of WPC stock opened at $71.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.39. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.09 and a 52 week high of $76.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. W.P. Carey's dividend payout ratio is 160.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.P. Carey news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $32,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,268. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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