W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,093 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $9,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WPC. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

WPC opened at $70.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.08 and a 52-week high of $77.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.53. The company has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.75.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is currently 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.