NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Makes New $543,000 Investment in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,605 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WPC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,371,801,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $189,315,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at about $164,853,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at about $128,034,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at about $127,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 1.0%

WPC traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,300,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,184. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.24 and a 52 week high of $77.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is currently 129.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WPC shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.14.

W.P. Carey Profile

W.P. Carey Inc (NYSE: WPC) is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial properties. The company primarily invests in single-tenant, operationally critical properties that are leased to companies under long-term, net lease agreements. These arrangements generally require tenants to pay property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs, subject to the terms of each lease.

Its portfolio has historically included industrial, warehouse, retail, office and self-storage properties, with a focus on assets leased to established businesses across a range of industries.