J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $1.14 Million Stock Holdings in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 163.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,032 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 11,200 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in W.P. Carey by 118.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.P. Carey Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE WPC traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,113,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,223,595. The company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $62.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.91 and a 12 month high of $66.10.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.03). W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 5.02% and a net margin of 26.66%. The company had revenue of $407.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. W.P. Carey's payout ratio is presently 185.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on W.P. Carey from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on W.P. Carey from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays set a $61.00 target price on W.P. Carey and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on W.P. Carey from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas set a $66.00 price objective on W.P. Carey and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.22.

About W.P. Carey

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.