Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $1.75 Million Investment in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Gateway Wealth Partners purchased 25,676 shares of W.P. Carey worth approximately $1.75 million, while institutional investors collectively own 73.73% of the REIT.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $78, modestly above the stock’s $75.77 price.
• W.P. Carey exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.34 in EPS and $461.06 million in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share for an annualized yield of about 5%.

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 25,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,745,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 27,734 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth $41,638,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 372.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 46,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,002,000 after purchasing an additional 36,779 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth $2,922,000. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WPC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.00.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

Shares of WPC opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. 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 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average price is $73.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.13.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.63. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 29.35% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The company had revenue of $461.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $452.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. W.P. Carey's payout ratio is 160.68%.

Insider Transactions at W.P. Carey

In other W.P. Carey news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $32,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,268. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

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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