Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WPC. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

W.P. Carey stock opened at $71.92 on Thursday. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two 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. The stock has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.52.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WPC. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.38.

W.P. Carey 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.