1,814 Shares in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Purchased by Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,814 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Welltower in the first quarter worth $28,000. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth $32,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Welltower by 57.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 294 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.25.

Welltower Stock Performance

Welltower stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.06. The company had a trading volume of 4,256,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,941,688. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $100.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.97, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.15 and a 200-day moving average of $142.49. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.13 and a 52 week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 154.02%.

Welltower 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.