Waverly Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,865,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,459,000. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,329,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $419,654,000 after purchasing an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $99,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $1,323,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $150.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 473,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,958,757. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.95 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $147.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.93. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $98.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.37, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 154.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.83.

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.