Allianz SE Acquires New Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Allianz SE bought a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,674,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of WELL stock opened at $153.39 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. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $87.87 and a one year high of $158.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $145.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.57. The company has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.33, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James raised their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.46.

Welltower Company 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.