W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Bought by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc. increased its stake in W.P. Carey by 635% in the fourth quarter, ending with 32,611 shares valued at about $2.1 million.
• W.P. Carey’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.30 versus the $0.61 estimate and revenue of $454.5 million coming in above forecasts.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.0%; analyst sentiment remains mixed with a Hold consensus and a $75 price target.

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 635.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 28,174 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted 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. Raymond James Financial raised W.P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings raised W.P. Carey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 13,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,027,268. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

NYSE WPC opened at $74.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.76. W.P. Carey Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.09 and a twelve month high of $75.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.66 and a 200 day moving average of $70.10.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. 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. W.P. Carey's payout ratio is currently 158.97%.

W.P. Carey Company 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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