Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 58.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 160,377 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $14,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Welltower by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,884,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $489,585,000 after buying an additional 117,170 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $294,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Welltower by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in Welltower by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 128,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,175,000 after buying an additional 49,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Welltower by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WELL opened at $151.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.85. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.87 and a twelve month high of $152.81.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WELL. Scotiabank upped their target price on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.19.

Welltower 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.