W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 4.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 313,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 13,880 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $22,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the third quarter worth about $33,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on WPC shares. Wolfe Research raised W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.P. Carey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 0.2%

W.P. Carey stock opened at $70.53 on Friday. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.08 and a 1 year high of $77.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.49 and its 200-day moving average is $72.56. 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 company has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.75.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase 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 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is 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.