Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Cuts Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. cut its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $146.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.71. The stock has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a PE ratio of 94.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WELL. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.