Prudential PLC Has $2.22 Million Holdings in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its W.P. Carey stake by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 34,563 shares valued at about $2.22 million.
• W.P. Carey reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 versus a $0.61 estimate and revenue of $454.5 million, up 11.2% year over year.
• The REIT also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share, implying a 5.0% yield; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $75 price target.

Prudential PLC cut its position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 59.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 50,185 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 9.1% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 842,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,901,000 after buying an additional 70,572 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 10.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 1.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 372.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 46,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,002,000 after acquiring an additional 36,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 12.8% in the third quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 916,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,760,000 after acquiring an additional 104,365 shares during the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $32,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of WPC opened at $74.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $72.66 and its 200-day moving average is $70.10. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.09 and a fifty-two week high of $75.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.64 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 29.35% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The company's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

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

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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