Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Purchases Shares of 2,406 Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,406 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WELL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Welltower by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 55,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,541,000 after buying an additional 10,173 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Welltower by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 314,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,785,000 after purchasing an additional 14,823 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 154,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Welltower by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 5,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,820 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WELL opened at $97.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. The company has a market cap of $58.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.48, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.07. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.47 and a 52-week high of $98.19.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 301.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.57.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.