Planning Directions Inc. Invests $2.35 Million in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

Planning Directions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 37,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,347,000. W.P. Carey makes up 1.0% of Planning Directions Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in W.P. Carey by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:WPC opened at $63.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 0.78. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.91 and a fifty-two week high of $66.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.03.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $407.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.99 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 26.66% and a return on equity of 5.02%. W.P. Carey’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 185.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas set a $66.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.P. Carey from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on W.P. Carey from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on W.P. Carey from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.60.

About W.P. Carey

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.