Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors cut its W.P. Carey stake by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,054 shares and leaving it with 23,986 shares valued at about $1.54 million.
• W.P. Carey reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.30 per share versus the $0.61 consensus estimate and revenue of $454.5 million, up 11.2% year over year.
• The REIT raised its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share from $0.92, implying a $3.72 annualized payout and a roughly 5.0% yield.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,986 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 16,054 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 9.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 842,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $56,901,000 after buying an additional 70,572 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 372,212 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,150,000 after acquiring an additional 36,205 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in W.P. Carey by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,171,690 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $214,315,000 after acquiring an additional 49,992 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its stake in W.P. Carey by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 916,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $62,760,000 after acquiring an additional 104,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund PDN acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth about $2,851,000. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company's stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WPC opened at $74.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.77. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.09 and a 52 week high of $75.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $71.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.83. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.69. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 29.35%.The company had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $430.64 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. W.P. Carey's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. W.P. Carey's dividend payout ratio is presently 158.97%.

Insider Activity at W.P. Carey

In other news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays upped their target price on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore set a $74.00 price target on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.20.

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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