W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its W.P. Carey stake by 14.1% in the first quarter, selling 20,592 shares and leaving it with 124,942 shares valued at about $8.49 million.
• W.P. Carey reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $1.30 versus a $0.61 estimate and revenue of $454.5 million, up 11.2% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.0%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $77.83 price target.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,942 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,592 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of W.P. Carey worth $8,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPC. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 753,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,984,000 after acquiring an additional 11,635 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,164 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,494,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 73.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 96,983 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,050,000 after purchasing an additional 40,908 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on WPC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction 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 $1,027,268. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WPC opened at $75.87 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $73.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.55. The firm has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.76. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.19 and a 52 week high of $76.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.69. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 29.35% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The company had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $430.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. W.P. Carey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 160.68%.

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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