Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 1,182 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 50,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Welltower were worth $6,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Down 0.8 %

WELL opened at $150.50 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.87 and a twelve month high of $152.81. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $135.22 and a 200-day moving average of $130.99. The stock has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 96.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.19.

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.