Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 55,437 Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,771,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,437 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in W.P. Carey were worth $254,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WPC. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth $40,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in W.P. Carey by 56.4% in the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in W.P. Carey by 1,126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

NYSE WPC opened at $70.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.93 and a 52-week high of $70.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.14.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 4.40%. The firm had revenue of $431.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.930-4.990 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 223.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WPC shares. Barclays set a $65.00 price target on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.45.

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.