W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,154,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 82,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $145,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 5.1% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in W.P. Carey by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 137,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,570,000 after acquiring an additional 5,356 shares during the period. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at about $224,000. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WPC. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays set a $65.00 price target on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.70.

W.P. Carey Stock Up 0.8%

W.P. Carey stock opened at $69.70 on Friday. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.24 and a fifty-two week high of $70.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 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.