Ellevest Inc. Raises Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Ellevest Inc. increased its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $149.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.74 and its 200 day moving average is $139.75. The stock has a market cap of $97.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.33 and a 52-week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.83.

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.