Centaurus Financial Inc. Sells 1,115 Shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

Centaurus Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,115 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in W. P. Carey were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in W. P. Carey during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of W. P. Carey by 93.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 1,510.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the first quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W. P. Carey Stock Performance

NYSE:WPC opened at $60.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.94. W. P. Carey Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.36 and a 1-year high of $67.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.47). W. P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 34.83%. The firm had revenue of $389.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that W. P. Carey Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. W. P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.08%.

Insider Transactions at W. P. Carey

In related news, Director Mark A. Alexander purchased 3,500 shares of W. P. Carey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.87 per share, with a total value of $195,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,987.88. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on WPC shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $62.00) on shares of W. P. Carey in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on W. P. Carey from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on W. P. Carey from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on W. P. Carey from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.25.

W. P. Carey Profile

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.