State of Michigan Retirement System Buys 2,900 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 160,509 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Welltower were worth $20,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL opened at $154.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $98.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.14. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.87 and a 52-week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.35.

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.