Vestcor Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 635.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,611 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 28,174 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WPC. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in W.P. Carey by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 753,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,984,000 after buying an additional 11,635 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in W.P. Carey by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,164 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,494,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in W.P. Carey by 73.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 96,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,050,000 after buying an additional 40,908 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WPC has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.P. Carey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Evercore set a $74.00 price target on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised W.P. Carey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,268. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

NYSE:WPC opened at $74.50 on Monday. W.P. Carey Inc. has a one year low of $61.09 and a one year high of $75.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.10.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.69. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 29.35%.The firm had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $430.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.