Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 477,275 W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 477,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $34,125,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in W.P. Carey during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE WPC opened at $71.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey Inc. has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $77.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.63 and its 200-day moving average is $72.57.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid 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 yield of 5.3%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WPC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.38.

About W.P. Carey

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.