Commerce Bank Acquires New Position in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Commerce Bank bought a new position in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,307 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in W.P. Carey by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 21,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 7,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanderbilt University grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 14,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of W.P. Carey stock opened at $71.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year 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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 (DPR) is presently 128.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WPC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.