Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Stock Position Lifted by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 781.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,704 shares during the quarter. Welltower makes up approximately 1.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $14,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Welltower by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,388,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,044 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $3,943,892,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,330 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 38.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,847,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977,845 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Welltower by 638.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,022,000 after buying an additional 5,982,711 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Trading Up 1.1 %

Welltower stock opened at $149.78 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.87 and a 12 month high of $158.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $96.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WELL. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.46.

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.