Danske Bank A S Purchases New Shares in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 133,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,527,000. Danske Bank A S owned 0.06% of W.P. Carey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in W.P. Carey by 22.1% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 153,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,429,000 after purchasing an additional 27,734 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in W.P. Carey by 124.2% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 135,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,743,000 after buying an additional 75,253 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth $41,638,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 488,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,231,000 after buying an additional 17,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 922,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,370,000 after acquiring an additional 71,463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WPC opened at $71.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.08 and a 52-week high of $77.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore set a $77.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays raised their target price on W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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, Wolfe Research raised W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.