VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 581,377 shares of W.P. Carey worth approximately $41.6 million, while institutional investors collectively own 73.73% of the REIT.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: W.P. Carey has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.38, with Barclays and Wolfe Research recently upgrading their views.
• W.P. Carey shares opened at $70.33, near the midpoint of their 12-month range, while the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.94, implying a 5.3% annualized yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 581,377 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $41,568,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.26% of W.P. Carey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in W.P. Carey by 6,982.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,759,661 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,984,816,000 after acquiring an additional 27,367,721 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 221.0% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 11,658 shares during the last quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 27,097 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 89.8% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 15,350 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 7,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth about $568,000. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WPC. Barclays raised W.P. Carey from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised W.P. Carey from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Evercore set a $77.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WPC opened at $70.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.46. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.08 and a 12-month high of $77.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.75.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. W.P. Carey's payout ratio is presently 128.33%.

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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