Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 800 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.96.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL opened at $146.49 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.40 and a 52 week high of $148.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.22 billion, a PE ratio of 96.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be 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 is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

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.