Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Reduces Position in W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC cut its stake in shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 379 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in W. P. Carey were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WPC. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the first quarter valued at $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in W. P. Carey by 438.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. P. Carey Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WPC opened at $54.97 on Monday. W. P. Carey Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.36 and a 12-month high of $74.66. The stock has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.63 and a 200 day moving average of $58.73.

W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.14. W. P. Carey had a net margin of 40.68% and a return on equity of 7.78%. The company had revenue of $410.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. W. P. Carey’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W. P. Carey Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.865 per share. This represents a $3.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. W. P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of W. P. Carey from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of W. P. Carey in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Raymond James downgraded shares of W. P. Carey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of W. P. Carey from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of W. P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.36.

W. P. Carey Company 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.