Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 98,706 Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 310,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,706 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $21,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth about $151,411,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in W.P. Carey by 2,712.0% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 771,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,128,000 after acquiring an additional 744,097 shares during the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,694,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 422.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 736,437 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,939,000 after acquiring an additional 595,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 165.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 830,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,809,000 after acquiring an additional 517,855 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WPC shares. Barclays set a $65.00 price target on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased 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 report on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.70.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 0.4%

WPC opened at $69.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.22. W.P. Carey Inc. has a one year low of $53.93 and a one year high of $70.28. The stock has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 0.79.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $431.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.44 million. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 21.75%.W.P. Carey’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.930-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 223.03%.

About W.P. Carey

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.