Groupe la Francaise Purchases Shares of 8,758 W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.31.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:WPC opened at $73.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.62 and its 200 day moving average is $72.24. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.08 and a 12 month high of $77.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.33%.

W.P. Carey Company 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.