Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 52-Week High at $100.53

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $100.53 and last traded at $99.98, with a volume of 112172 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.07.

Welltower Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. The company has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a PE ratio of 123.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 301.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,333,716,000 after buying an additional 3,257,213 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Welltower by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,731,842,000 after buying an additional 6,104,064 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,453,039,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Welltower by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,012,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,173,337,000 after acquiring an additional 87,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Welltower by 22.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,486,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $695,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,084 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc NYSE: WELL, a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.