Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Bought by Vert Asset Management LLC

Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Welltower comprises about 8.0% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $23,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 17,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 5.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 188,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,190,000 after buying an additional 9,610 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1,088.0% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth about $654,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 5.0% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,638,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $132.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.22 and a 200-day moving average of $109.44. The company has a market cap of $79.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.26, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.80 and a 12-month high of $132.27.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. Welltower’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 330.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Welltower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.38.

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.