Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $4.32 Million in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 63,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,315,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.P. Carey

In related news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $32,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,268. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of W.P. Carey stock opened at $73.87 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.80. W.P. Carey Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.09 and a 12-month high of $76.97. The company has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $430.64 million. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 29.35%.The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 158.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WPC shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, June 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.83.

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.