W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its W.P. Carey stake by 10.8% in Q3, selling 79,545 shares and now holds 656,892 shares (~0.30%) valued at $44.39 million.
• W.P. Carey beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.27 vs. $1.25; revenue $444.6M vs. $433.3M) and set FY2026 guidance of 5.130–5.230 EPS; it also raised the quarterly dividend to $0.92 (annualized $3.68, ~5.1% yield) despite a high payout ratio of 174.41%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $71.11 (2 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell).

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 656,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 79,545 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.30% of W.P. Carey worth $44,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 24.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 44,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 8,754 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in W.P. Carey by 15.7% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,349 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 12.5% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 8.1% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 162,924 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,163,000 after buying an additional 12,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 336,007 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $20,960,000 after acquiring an additional 4,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays set a $65.00 price target on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.11.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 1.1%

W.P. Carey stock opened at $71.47 on Thursday. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.24 and a 52 week high of $75.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.07.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $444.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.28 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 5.67%. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.130-5.230 EPS. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. W.P. Carey's payout ratio is presently 174.41%.

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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