Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,819 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Welltower were worth $36,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 0.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.6% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 14.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 0.6% during the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 16,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE WELL opened at $133.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.38 and a 1-year high of $139.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.69.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Welltower’s payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. Wedbush raised their price objective on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.38.

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.