Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 12-Month High at $102.32

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $102.32 and last traded at $102.23, with a volume of 444766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WELL. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.93.

Welltower Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.91 billion, a PE ratio of 124.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50-day moving average is $93.99 and its 200 day moving average is $91.11.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 301.23%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,453,039,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Welltower by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after buying an additional 6,104,064 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Welltower by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 85,930,671 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,748,369,000 after acquiring an additional 5,173,079 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth $309,917,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $695,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,084 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Company Profile

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.