Equity Investment Corp Grows Position in W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,870,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 389,107 shares during the quarter. W. P. Carey comprises approximately 2.4% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in W. P. Carey were worth $101,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WPC. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in W. P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W. P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. P. Carey in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of W. P. Carey by 962.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W. P. Carey Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WPC stock opened at $64.34 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.84. W. P. Carey Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.91 and a 12-month high of $64.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.97.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.88 dividend. This is an increase from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. W. P. Carey’s payout ratio is presently 168.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of W. P. Carey from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of W. P. Carey in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W. P. Carey from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on W. P. Carey from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised W. P. Carey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.38.

About W. P. Carey

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.