Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,699,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,761 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $173,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in W.P. Carey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.P. Carey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target 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 increased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.P. Carey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of W.P. Carey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $32,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,268. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

WPC opened at $74.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.77. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.09 and a fifty-two week high of $75.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.78. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.64 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 29.35% and a return on equity of 6.29%. W.P. Carey’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 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, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. 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.