Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 30,315 Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 197,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 30,315 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $12,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,568,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 10.3% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 247,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,990,000 after buying an additional 23,060 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth about $1,403,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $8,112,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in W.P. Carey by 2.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,815,000 after acquiring an additional 31,476 shares during the period. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

NYSE:WPC opened at $64.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.19 and a fifty-two week high of $77.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.64.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $468.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.57 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 35.60% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is 131.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WPC. Benchmark initiated coverage on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on W.P. Carey from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $75.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $75.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Monday, September 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.79.

About W.P. Carey

W.P. Carey Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages commercial properties leased to businesses under long-term net leases. Under these arrangements, tenants typically pay property expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance in addition to rent. The company’s portfolio focuses primarily on industrial and warehouse properties, along with retail and self-storage facilities. Its properties serve tenants in the United States and Europe. In 2023, W.P. Carey separated its office properties into a new, publicly traded company as part of a shift toward its other property types.