Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 6,625 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,372 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,625 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE WELL traded up $1.02 on Wednesday, reaching $152.50. The company had a trading volume of 4,268,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,878,782. The firm has a market cap of $99.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.72 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc NYSE: WELL, a real estate investment trust ("REIT") and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.