New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 762,265 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of Welltower worth $116,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 182,742 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,998,000 after purchasing an additional 4,524 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,004 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $313,000. Harmony Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Callahan Advisors LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 42,723 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,546,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.18.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL traded up $2.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $155.10. 2,419,527 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,903,821. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $104.10 and a one year high of $158.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 4.23 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm has a market cap of $101.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.14, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.30 and a 200-day moving average of $145.50.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower's payout ratio is 154.02%.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.