Vestcor Inc Increases Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 5.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 132,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,685 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Welltower were worth $16,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.77.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $129.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.77 and its 200 day moving average is $119.80. The stock has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $140.75. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

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.