Patton Fund Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Patton Fund Management Inc. cut its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,711 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,691 shares during the period. Welltower makes up approximately 1.5% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $6,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Welltower by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,388,151,000 after buying an additional 2,612,044 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,674,826,000 after purchasing an additional 318,496 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,943,892,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,357,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,782,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,989,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,231 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $150.58 on Tuesday. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.13 and a 52-week high of $158.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.95 and a 200-day moving average of $142.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.47 billion, a PE ratio of 96.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Welltower's payout ratio is 154.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WELL. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.25.

About Welltower

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.

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