Private Management Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. cut its W.P. Carey stake by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 114,326 shares and leaving it with 363,183 shares valued at about $23.4 million.
• W.P. Carey’s latest quarter beat expectations, posting earnings of $1.30 per share versus the $0.61 consensus and revenue of $454.5 million, up 11.2% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share, implying a 5.0% annualized yield, while analyst sentiment remains mixed with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.90.

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 114,326 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned 0.17% of W.P. Carey worth $23,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.P. Carey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research raised 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 report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, March 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.90.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WPC opened at $75.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.34. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.76. W.P. Carey Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.09 and a twelve month high of $76.91.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.64 million. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 29.35%.W.P. Carey's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. Analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. 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 business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,027,268. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

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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