Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 340,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,241 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.06% of Welltower worth $30,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Welltower by 97.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 479.6% during the third quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Welltower during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 117.8% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Down 0.9 %

Welltower stock opened at $88.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.47 and a 52 week high of $94.63. The company has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.90.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.79). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 5.12% and a return on equity of 1.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 381.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Welltower from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Welltower in a report 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 report on Friday, March 29th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Welltower from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.57.

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.