Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $153.54 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.87 and a twelve month high of $153.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. On average, analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.96.

Welltower 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.