Royal Bank of Canada Has $18.38 Million Holdings in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 15.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 270,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,090 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.12% of W.P. Carey worth $18,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $844,065,000 after purchasing an additional 119,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $307,913,000 after buying an additional 110,306 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,213,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,150,000 after buying an additional 441,526 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,904,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $251,311,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in W.P. Carey by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,348,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $227,539,000 after buying an additional 155,857 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.31.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

WPC opened at $71.79 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.39. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $77.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.75.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is 128.33%.

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.