W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Position Lessened by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,836 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 87,150 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $172,742,000 after acquiring an additional 106,879 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in W.P. Carey by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,551,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,147,000 after purchasing an additional 120,498 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $151,411,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,257,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $142,440,000 after purchasing an additional 68,414 shares during the period. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised W.P. Carey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays raised their target price on W.P. Carey from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on W.P. Carey from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.50.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

WPC opened at $64.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.91 and a 1-year high of $69.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.78.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 21.75%.The company had revenue of $431.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.930-4.990 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 220.61%.

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.