2,859,460 Shares in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,859,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $184,035,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.P. Carey

In other 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,027,268. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WPC shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

Shares of WPC stock opened at $73.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.76. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.09 and a 52 week high of $75.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.38 and a 200-day moving average of $70.00.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.97%.

W.P. Carey 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.