Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Stake Reduced by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,491,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 311,856 shares during the period. Welltower makes up 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.56% of Welltower worth $439,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,388,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,943,892,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,558,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,707,570,000 after acquiring an additional 644,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,884,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,585,000 after acquiring an additional 117,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $143.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The company has a market cap of $92.89 billion, a PE ratio of 91.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $147.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.29. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.87 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.46.

About Welltower

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.