Equity Investment Corp Reduces Stock Position in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Equity Investment Corp reduced its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,582,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 224,196 shares during the quarter. W.P. Carey accounts for about 2.2% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.72% of W.P. Carey worth $106,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WPC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.P. Carey by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,606,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,581,000 after acquiring an additional 87,150 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,771,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $254,839,000 after purchasing an additional 55,437 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,769,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,742,000 after purchasing an additional 106,879 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,551,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $159,147,000 after purchasing an additional 120,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth about $151,411,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WPC. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $65.00 price objective on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.20.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WPC opened at $69.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.78. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.24 and a 1-year high of $70.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.67.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. 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. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 223.03%.

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.