Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 311,856 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,491,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 311,856 shares during the quarter. Welltower makes up about 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $439,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Welltower by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,856,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,646,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,955,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho upped their price target on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $143.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.29. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55. The firm has a market cap of $92.89 billion, a PE ratio of 91.83, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

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

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.