Cullen Capital Management LLC Takes Position in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in W.P. Carey in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WPC. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:WPC opened at $71.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. W.P. Carey Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two week high of $77.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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 issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.33%.

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.