Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 19,869 Shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,869 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in W. P. Carey were worth $10,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of W. P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in W. P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in W. P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in W. P. Carey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W. P. Carey from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of W. P. Carey from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W. P. Carey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on W. P. Carey from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.75.

W. P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of W. P. Carey stock opened at $56.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. W. P. Carey Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.91 and a 12 month high of $66.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This is a boost from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. W. P. Carey’s payout ratio is 170.33%.

W. P. Carey Company Profile

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.