Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $189.31 Million Investment in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,647,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $189,315,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 1.16% of W.P. Carey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WPC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,371,801,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $844,065,000 after buying an additional 119,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $307,913,000 after buying an additional 110,306 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in W.P. Carey by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,904,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $251,311,000 after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 4.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,348,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $227,539,000 after acquiring an additional 155,857 shares during the period. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of WPC stock opened at $71.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. W.P. Carey Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $77.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.75.

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 issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WPC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 target price for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $77.00 target price on W.P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.38.

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.