Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC reduced its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 39.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 372,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 241,437 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Welltower worth $46,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $143.26 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. The firm has a market cap of $92.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.83, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.35.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.